By XINHUA
The Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) on Thursday said that 22 African countries have so far reported cases of the Omicron COVID-19 variant.
“As of today, 22 African countries are reporting the presence of the Omicron variant,” John Nkengasong, Director of the Africa CDC, told journalists in a periodic briefing.
According to figures from the Africa CDC, six African countries that are Burkina Faso, Togo, Egypt, Kenya, Morocco and Mauritius have reported Omicron COVID-19 variant cases during the past week.
“We can see clearly that the Omicron variant is spreading very quickly in Africa,” Nkengasong said.
The African Union (AU) had recently warned that travel and entry bans in connection with the emergence of the Omicron COVID-19 variant limit the free movement of people and goods, imposing immediate and significant impact on African countries.
As of Thursday morning, the number of confirmed COVID-19 cases in Africa reached 9,259,813 and the death toll stood at 226,536.
