How Uganda plans to prevent importation of Omicron Covid variant

 

What you need to know:

• Since its initial identification, the variant has spread significantly to reach all provinces of South Africa. It has also been identified in countries neighboring South Africa namely; Lesotho, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, Zimbabwe, Angola and Zambia as well as among travelers to distant countries including, Netherlands, Thailand, Israel, United Kingdom, Czech Republic, Italy, Belgium and Germany, among others with the list of countries continually growing.

As several countries across the world continue to report detection of Omicron Covid variant, government said Thursday that the strain which is believed to be more contagious than previous ones has not been detected in Uganda.

Since its initial identification, the variant has spread significantly to reach all provinces of South Africa. It has also been identified in countries neighboring South Africa namely; Lesotho, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, Zimbabwe, Angola and Zambia as well as among travelers to distant countries including, Netherlands, Thailand, Israel, United Kingdom, Czech Republic, Italy, Belgium and Germany, among others with the list of countries continually growing.

“Not much is known about the variant, since it is new, but, this variant is reported to have 32 mutations (genetic changes). In the spike protein gene (the coat of the virus), more than those that have been identified in several other variants of concern including the Delta and Alpha variants. While the Omicron variant has been reported in several countries across the world, it is important to note that this variant has not been detected in Uganda,” Health Minister Dr Jane Ruth Aceng told journalists in Kampala on Thursday.