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The new COVID-19 variants which were reported in a number of African nations may undermine efforts to comprise the pandemic, a World Health Organization (WHO) official mentioned on Thursday, Trend studies citing Xinhua.
Matshidiso Moeti, WHO regional director for Africa mentioned that strong mitigation measures are required to avert stress on the continent’s public well being techniques amid the unfold of latest strains of the virus.
“Even if the new variant is not more virulent, a virus that can spread more easily will put further strain on hospitals and health workers who are in many cases already overstretched,” Moeti mentioned in a press release issued in Nairobi.
She mentioned that enhanced vigilance is vital to avert transmission of coronavirus in Africa within the mild of latest mutations and upticks linked to easing of containment measures.
According to the Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the continent’s reported COVID-19 caseload reached 3.14 million on Wednesday whereas whole fatalities stood at 75,909.
Moeti mentioned the continent has reported a mean of 25,000 new circumstances day by day since late December 2020 and will expertise an uptick within the coming days attributable to intense travels and household gatherings witnessed throughout the festive season.
She mentioned that South Africa, Nigeria, Gambia, Zambia and Botswana have reported new COVID-19 variants, including that sequencing their genetic make-up is vital to achieve perception into their severity on sufferers.
“We call on all countries to increase testing and sequencing of the virus to swiftly spot, track and tackle new COVID-19 variants as soon as they appear,” mentioned Moeti.
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