Deadly COVID-19 Delta variant recorded in communities
The government has advised the populace to be extra cautious as the country records its first community cases of the deadly Delta variant of the SARS-Cov-2 virus.
Mutations in the Delta variant make it replicate faster and evade the body’s immunity mechanism.
According to WHO, it is the ‘fastest and fittest’ variant yet.
The Delta variant is 50-60 per cent more transmissible than the Alpha variant, which was 50-60 per cent more transmissible than the original strain of COVID-19.
In a tweet on Friday, July 2, the Information Ministry stated, “The public is advised to adhere strictly to the COVID-19 preventive etiquette while going about their permitted activities”.
The discovery of the Delta variant through non-passenger arrival was recorded in a community whose identity has been withheld.
This was after the Ghana Health Service (GHS) conducted its latest round of genomic sequencing.
The GHS has since alerted the Covid-19 Task Force to intensify its effort in containing the disease.
Meanwhile, the persons who have tested positive are said to be in good health, as the relevant agencies have taken steps to contain the spread.
The ministry, however, stated that the COVID-19 task force would provide more details on the community spread of the delta variant of the disease on Sunday, July 4, 2021.
On Tuesday, June 22, 2021, the Director-General of the GHS, Dr Patrick Kuma-Aboagye, said, “No Delta variant had been detected from samples taken from cases in the community.”
At the time, the country had recorded about six cases of the Delta variants through tests conducted from the Kotoka International airport.
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The government urged to expedite action to curb the new strain
Following the recording of the Delta variant in the country, the Head of the West Africa Centre for Cell Biology and Infectious Pathogens, West African Centre for Cell Biology of Infectious Pathogens (WACCBIP), at the University of Ghana, Professor Gordon Awendare, asked the government to tighten its efforts to contain the disease.
He said it had become important for the government to immediately enforce the COVID-19 preventive protocols to tackle a potential spread.
He added that the controls at the airport must be tightened to stop additional importation.
The delta variant of the COVID-19
The Delta variant of COVID-19 was first identified in India and is known as B.167.2.
It has since been causing a spike in COVID-19 infections among unvaccinated people in England, the United States, and worldwide, prompting several nations to introduce new lockdowns.
The Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has observed that the delta variant now accounts for 25% of new COVID-19 cases in the US and is on track to becoming the dominant version of the virus circulating in the country, and across the world, with Ghana not being an exception.