According to the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control (NCDC), a deadly variant of the deadly COVID-19, SARS-CoV-2 Delta, has been detected in the country.

The NCDC in a statement released by its head of communications, Yahya Disu, on Thursday, said the variant was diagnosed during genomic sequencing at the NCDC National Reference Laboratory, Abuja.

Disu in the statement said the high transmissibility of the variant poses a serious global risk.

He stated: “Given the global risk of spread of the Delta variant, positive samples from international travellers to Nigeria are sequenced regularly.”

The NCDC spokesman, however, said that the centre is embarking on studies aimed at ascertaining the impact of the variant on available vaccines.

Disu added that as part of its response to the disease, “NCDC has been working with the Nigerian Institute of Medical Research, African Centre for Genomics of Infectious Diseases, and other laboratories within the national network, to carry out genomic sequencing.”

Meanwhile, the Federal Government had debunked the claim that people who received the Coronavirus (COVID-19) vaccine could generate some form of a magnetic field in the vaccination site or also light up an electric bulb.

The National Primary Health Care Development Agency’s (NPHCDA) executive director, Faisal Shuaib, said some anti-vaccination individuals came up with the magnetic conspiracy theory.

According to him, the conspiracy theorists aim to deceive people with their videos and claims. Shuaib said this at the NPHCDA weekly press briefing in Abuja.