Deadly Indian strain recorded at KIA hasn’t entered the community – GHS

Ghana has detected six Delta variants of coronavirus so far, according to Ghana Health Service

The deadly Delta variants of COVID-19 recorded in Ghana have not yet entered the community, the Ghana Health Service (GHS) has announced.

Ghana has detected six Delta variants of COVID-19 so far, the GHS has confirmed.

The variants were confirmed from samples taken from passengers at the Kotoka International Airport between April and June.

A statement by the GHS said “all passengers who test positive at Kotoka International Airport (KIA) are put under mandatory isolation.

“All positive samples are sent for further testing (genomic sequencing) to identify the variants. Variants sequenced from samples of positive cases at the Airport do not necessarily end up in the community.

“As of now, the country has detected six Delta variants of the SARS-CoV-2 (COVID-19 virus) from all samples taken between April and June, 2021 at the ports of entry. No Delta variant has been detected from samples taken from cases in the community.

“The MOH and GHS further inform the general public that in April 2021, there was a surge in cases at the airport during which period 308 positives were identified.

“However, Ghana has not experienced a third wave partly due to the robust surveillance system in place at the ports of entry and strict isolation of all cases detected.”

On the issue of vaccines, the GHS noted that reports that Sputnik-V and AstraZeneca vaccines are not effective against the Delta strain of SARS-Cov-2 (the virus that causes COVID-19) are untrue.

According to Public Health England (PHE) two doses of the Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine are highly effective against hospitalisation due to the Delta variant and showed no deaths among those vaccinated.

The data also suggest that the AstraZeneca vaccine is effective against symptomatic disease caused by the Delta variant.