Osun records five new cases of B117 strain of COVID-19

The Osun State government has confirmed the discovery of five cases of the deadly B117 strain of COVID-19.

This was announced in a statement sent to PREMIUM TIMES by the state’s Commissioner for Information, Funke Egbemode, on Sunday.

“The government of the state of Osun regrets to announce that the State has in the past few days recorded five cases of the violent and deadly B117 strain of COVID-19, which was first reported in the United Kingdom.”

“This is particularly worrisome because it is barely a week that the Presidential Task Force on Covid-19 announced the discovery of the strain in Nigeria, and Osun already has five cases.

“Considering the continued disregard and defiance for safety protocols in the state, the government is extremely concerned about the days ahead. This new strain spreads faster and kills quicker. If it continues to grow, more citizens will become vulnerable and those with underlying ailments more endangered.”

“We cannot continue to act like Covid-19 is not real. It is not just a sad reality but one that has changed momentum with this more deadly strain. Citizens are enjoined to scale up their personal responsibility for safety by complying with all the non-pharmaceutical protocols outlined by the government, to avoid tragic consequences”, Mrs Egbemode said in the statement.

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Health experts have begun to analyse the B117 virus and they said it is more dangerous than what has been obtained before now.

They argued that B117 virus is 70% more transmissible than the other strains.

As of the time of this report, there is no evidence that the COVID-19 vaccines will not immunise against B117 virus. More over, scientists have reportedly started new research into the vaccine’s efficacy in building an immune response to B117 virus.