Covid-19 strain: Indian strain ‘Delta’ of Coronavirus enters Ghana

Biomedical Scientists in Ghana say the more deadlier Indian strain of Covid-19 has entered the country.

Head of West Africa Center for Cell Biology and Infectious Pathogens, Professor Gordon Awendare confirmed news of the Indian variant in Ghana.

The Indian strain which is nicknamed ‘Delta’ according to World Health Organization (WHO) is the new “variant of concern.”

This variant is one of forty-five (45) variants which is already in the country.

But biomedical science officials say the presence of this variant is alarming.

This is due to the stubborn nature of the virus strain which most vaccines like AstraZeneca and Sputnik V are ineffective against.

Professor Gordon Awendare revealed that “All this while, we’ve been following AstraZeneca then Sputnik V.

“But now we’ll shift towards Pfizer and others which gives better chance at protecting against the virus.”

This new variant will be the second after the genomic sequencing by Ghanaian scientists discovered a new variant of Covid in January, 2021.

How the Indian variant entered Ghana

Health Officials say the Indian variant entered Ghana through the airport as borders became open to people to go in and out.

Professor Awendare revealed that the country could have stepped up safety protocols at the main entry point like the Airports to stop the importation of this virus.

Studies into this virus shows that it spreads more easily compared to other Covid-19 variants.

Health Authorities are starting to make moves to address the presence of this virus and manage its spread in Ghana.

Ghana has recorded 95,059 cases of Covid-19 since the virus first entered the country last year, according to Worldometer coronavirus update today.

Out of this number 93,005 people recovered while 794 people died.