COVID-19: NCDC Issues Warning Over Resurgence of Cases in China, UK, USA...

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 Daily Rendezvous
Update on COVID-19 Genomic Surveillance in view of the Rising Cases of COVID-19 in Hotspot Countries.

The Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and Prevention (NCDC) is the national public health institute with 
the mandate to lead the preparedness, detection, and response to public health emergencies. Consequently, 
we continue to monitor global COVID-19 epidemiology including genomics data as part of the ongoing pandemic response.

The NCDC-led COVID-19 Emergency Operations Centre (EOC) is monitoring COVID-19 trends in 
China, the United States of America (USA), the United Kingdom (UK), South Africa, India, and other 
countries with a high volume of traffic to and from Nigeria. This includes the resurgence of COVID-19 in China following the relaxation of the country’s zero-COVID policy, as well as significantly increased 
COVID-19 cases, admissions, and deaths in the UK and the USA over the past weeks driven in part by the 
usual winter exacerbations of respiratory illnesses.

Before the recent case increase in China, the USA, the UK and other countries, genomic surveillance has 
shown that the Omicron SARS-CoV-2 variant and its lineages continue to dominate in recorded infections 
worldwide. However, the rise in the new Omicron sub-lineages XBB.1.5 in the UK and the US, and BF.7 
in China raises concern as it may spread faster than older Omicron sub-lineages (e.g., XBB or BQ) and that they are responsible in part for current increases in cases, hospitalisations, and deaths. However, the sub-lineage seen with cases in China, B.5.2.1 and BF.7 are responsible for the surge in China and does not appear to be increasing unusually in other countries.
The NCDC continues to strengthen genomic surveillance of the COVID-19 virus in Nigeria. Since the 
detection of the Omicron variant in December 2021, its sub-lineage (BQ.1/BQ.1.1) has been dominant in 
Nigeria. None of these dominant sub-lineages in Nigeria that are also circulating elsewhere has been 
associated with any increases in case numbers, admissions, or deaths locally. The sub-lineages partly 
responsible for the current increase in COVID-19 cases in other countries i.e., XBB.1.5 and BF.7 have not 
yet been detected in the country but B.5.2.1 has been seen here since July 2022 and the others are most 
likely here already. BF.7 and XBB have also been circulating in South Africa since October 2022 but 
without any accompanying increase in cases, severe illness, or deaths.
 Regardless of COVID-19 variants in different parts of the world, severe disease, admissions and deaths 
disproportionately affect the unvaccinated and those with established risk factors i.e., older people, people with co-morbidities and the immunocompromised. The most important action for Nigerians to take is to get vaccinated against COVID-19, as the vaccine is the most important intervention for preventing severe disease, hospitalisation, and death. Though the COVID-19 protocols and restrictions have been eased, people at high risk for severe COVID-19 are advised to continue to adhere to the recommended non-
pharmaceutical intervention (NPIs) such as the use of face masks, good hand and respiratory hygiene and 
avoidance of crowded spaces.
COVID-19 has and continues to follow a different epidemiological course in Nigeria and most of Africa. 
Other Omicron sub-lineages that were associated with increases in cases, admissions and deaths elsewhere did not cause the same in Nigeria as confirmed by our genomics surveillance. This is because the population is significantly protected from a combination of natural immunity and vaccination with vaccines 
with a high impact on hospitalisation, and deaths. In hindsight, country-targeted travel restrictions 
including requests for PCR-negative tests from incoming travellers had little or no effect on preventing 
global and national circulation of omicron since the emergence of this variant and its relatives with their 
shorter incubation period.

The NCDC will continue to pay close attention to the ongoing COVID-19 situation in other countries and 
gather additional surveillance data to inform actions. We are reviewing the situation again this week. At 
this next review and if deemed necessary, a range of actions, not limited to enhanced surveillance of 
travellers at airports, may be decided on and implemented.



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