As COVID cases continue to rise across the globe, Nigeria has now officially entered the fourth wave of the fast-spreading virus. Countries in Europe have been recently fighting huge rises in the number of coronavirus cases, especially the new Omicron variant of the virus.
The fourth wave of the virus in Nigeria was confirmed after it was revealed by the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control that the country has seen a 500 percent increase in cases within the past two weeks alone. This discovery has led to a warning addressed to Nigerians to exercise great caution during this festive season, as families and friends gather to celebrate together.
Even though the Omicron variant is taking most of the headlines in recent days, it is not the only variant of the virus still rampaging the world. The Delta variant – predecessor to the Omicron variant – is still active in most countries, even co-habiting with the Omicron variant.
Although both variants are existing at the same time, World Health Organisation officials are predicting that the Omicron variant will overtake the Delta variant as the dominant variant of the coronavirus by February 2022.
According to the Director-General of the NCDC, Nigeria is among those countries currently battling both variants at the same time. As at December 19th 2021, a total of 223,887 cases have been confirmed in the country. Nigeria has also recorded 2,985 deaths directly from all the confirmed cases of the coronavirus.
In the wake of this, the Federal Government of Nigeria is now intensifying its efforts to communicate the risks of the virus and also placing continuous emphasis on the prevention measures.
As it stands, the country is not considering a lockdown as we approach the festive period, unlike some countries like the Netherlands who have introduced new lockdowns going into the festive period.
The NCDC has urged all Nigerians going for outdoor events to ensure physical distancing and to use their face masks. Vaccinations are also highly encouraged.