Uruguay: the first cases of the Delta variant of covid-19 have been detected | It is about 26 travelers who returned to the country last month

Uruguay has detected the first cases of the Delta variant of covid-19. It is 26 travelers returned from abroad last month, who are in good health and under “close surveillance,” authorities said. In addition, infections with the Alpha and Beta variants have been reported.

After a “strict control of travelers from abroad” entry into the country of “three worrisome variants” has been confirmedPublic Health Minister Daniel Salinas said at a press conference.

Of the total samples analyzed, “Of correspond to the Alpha variant, nail to the variant Lambda O Andina (not considered to be of concern), 14 to beta variant Yes 26 were of the variant Delta», Indicated the minister.

Salinas detailed that people infected with Delta arrived from four different countries and those who carry the Beta variant are foreign members of fishing vessels.

“There are only two hospitalized patients, which correspond to the boat (…). They are in good health”, he specified. “The others are resting in their homes,” he added, before assuring that “The situation is under control and closely watched.”

Finally, the official urged the population to be vaccinated to contain the spread of the virus. “It has been shown that the beta and delta variants mainly attack the unvaccinated or incompletely vaccinated (the youngest in Uruguay).
So: go get vaccinated. It’s for you and it’s for everyone, ”he said.

The high level of contagion of the Delta variant, first detected in India, is causing epidemics of the virus in several parts of the world.

The mutation, originally from the Asian country and highly contagious, is entering Uruguay at a time when the country is seeing a sharp drop in infections and daily deaths, as well as active cases and people hospitalized in intensive care for covid-19.

The improvement is explained by the progress of the vaccination campaign, which began on March 1: 58% of the population is fully vaccinated, while 70 percent received at least the first dose of CoronaVac, Pfizer or AstraZeneca.

The high percentage of vaccinated adds to the natural immunity achieved by the inhabitants after the high number of infections reached especially in April and May, when the country passed through its worst health moment.

Currently, Uruguay has 378,733 cases and 5,879 deaths from the new coronavirus since the start of the pandemic.

As of Saturday, there were 4,887 active cases, a sharp drop from the peak reached in late May, when 36,121 people had the disease.