Eko Hot Blog reports that Ministry of Health has dismissed claims of a new COVID-19 variant in Ebonyi state.
The claims were made in a memo that originated from the National Obstetric Fistula Centre in Abakaliki. The memo warned staff of the centre about an alleged outbreak of a new variant of COVID-19 that was said to be more deadly than the previous variants.
The memo also said that the new variant did not cause fever or cough, but instead caused joint pain, headache, neck and upper back pain, general weakness, loss of appetite, and pneumonia.
However, the Ministry of Health has said that the claims in the memo are false.
In a statement, the ministry’s spokesperson, Patricia Deworitshe, said that the information in the memo was a “product of unverified and unsubstantiated flying news from social media.”
She added that there is no new COVID-19 case or infection in the National Obstetric Fistula Centre, and that there is no rise in COVID-19 cases in Abakaliki or in Ebonyi State in general.
The ministry has advised the public to disregard the memo and its content.
It is only the Nigerian Centre for Disease Control (NCDC) that is statutorily empowered to release information on such matters as COVID-19.
The NCDC has not yet released any information about a new COVID-19 variant in Ebonyi state.
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