XEC COVID-19: FG Places Hospitals Nationwide on Alert

Onyebuchi Ezigbo in Abuja

The federal government has alerted hospital authorities on the report of the detection of a new XEC COVID-19 variant in Australia.

In a letter addressed to Committee of Medical Directors in charge of hospitals, the government urged  them to implement enhanced monitoring/surveillance to detect any new variant.

The letter read: ” I am directed to inform you of the newly detected XEC COVID-19 variant which has been reported in Australia and has already spread to 29 countries. The memo said the new variant has shown a growth advantage over other circulating strains raising concern about its potential impact on public health.”

The letter signed by the Head, Teaching Hospital division in the Federal Ministry of Health, Dr. O. N. Anuma, directed that alerts should be immediately activated throughout hospitals for high index of suspicious in patients with COVID-19-like symptoms.