COVID-19: The new variant travels 50 to 70 times faster

General news for Tuesday 19 January 2021

Source: Happy 98.9FM

2021-01-19

The Ghana Health Service (GHS) has revealed that the new strain of the COVID-19 pandemic has a higher and faster infection rate compared to the first strain.

Ghana Health Service (GHS) director of health promotion Dr Dacosta Aboagye said the new strain of the virus was transmitted fifty to seventy (50-70) times faster.

Ghana has recorded cases of two different strains of the virus, he said. One from UK and one from South Africa.

“Both variants spread very quickly and I think they have the same symptoms as the first version of the virus. But, the only difference is that the transmission is very fast. The new variants travel between 50 and 70 times faster than the normal variants that we know ”.

He noted that the various strains were imported into the country via Kotoka International Airport (KIA) but that these individuals were put in isolation.

“We all know that with the reopening of our borders, we have demanded that anyone entering the country come with a PCR test from their home country, and upon arriving in Ghana, they undergo the antigen test and ask isolate yourself.

“However, we recently changed our policy a bit and insisted that anyone who tested positive for COVID-19 be housed in our facilities for a second test.”

Dr Dacosta noted that for the second test the positive cases were subjected to genetic sequencing and it was at this point that ‘we noticed that they were infected with the new UK variants and d ‘South Africa”.

The director of health promotion at GHS assured the population that positive cases of the new variants were receiving treatment in isolation and at treatment centers under the Ghana Health Service.

Context

Information from the Center for Disease Control (CDC) suggests that several variants of COVID-19 are circulating around the world.

In the United Kingdom (UK), a new variant called B.1.1.7 has emerged with an unusually high number of mutations. This variant spreads easier and faster than the other variants.

This variant was first detected in September 2020 and is now very widespread in London and the south-east of England. It has since been detected in many countries around the world, including the United States and Canada.

In South Africa, another variant called 1.351 appeared regardless of the variant detected in the UK. This variant, originally detected in early October, shares some mutations with the variant detected in the UK. There have been cases caused by this variant outside of South Africa, but it has not been detected in the United States.

In Brazil, a variant called P.1 emerged and was identified in four travelers from Brazil, who were tested during routine screening at Haneda Airport outside of Tokyo, Japan. This variant contains a set of additional mutations that can affect its ability to be recognized by antibodies.

These variants appear to spread more easily and faster than other variants, which can lead to more cases of COVID-19. At this time, there is no evidence that these variants cause more serious illness or an increased risk of death.

However, an increase in the number of cases will put increased strain on health care resources, lead to more hospitalizations and potentially more deaths.