Connect with us

General News

Kenya: Covid-19 – Delta Variant Now Dominant, Warns CS Kagwe

Published

4 years ago

on

[ad_1]

The Health ministry on Wednesday confirmed that the Delta variant is now dominant as Kenya experiences a third wave, but did not share exact figures regarding its reach in the country.

With the country recording three variants of concern so far, Delta – whose origin is India – is said to be responsible for the recent spike in confirmed coronavirus cases.

Health Cabinet secretary Mutahi Kagwe, however, said that despite the sharp increase in the positivity rate, the country is yet to transition to the fourth wave as was earlier predicted by the Kenya Medical Research Institute (Kemri).

“The dominant variant, irrespective of the specific numbers in each county, remains the Delta variant. We are already in it and it is spreading in the community,” said Mr Kagwe today.

Experts, however, are calling for transparency with regard to genome sequencing, advising that such data when shared with the public contributes to individual vigilance and therefore a better public health outcome.

But Dr Patrick Amoth, the the acting Director General for Health, today insisted Kenya is in fact a powerhouse in genome sequencing of Covid-19 variants.

“Our genome sequencing capacity is adequate. We are even helping other countries such as South Sudan, Somali, Comoros among others. We are not in the same place as we were when the pandemic started where we only had one centre for genomic surveillance. We now have three; in Kilifi, Kisumu and Nairobi,” said Dr Amoth.