Tunisia Detects Infections of the South African Variant of COVID-19

Arab World

May 31st, 7:45am

Tunis - Mongi Saidani

A teacher receives a vaccine shot in Tunisia. (EPA)

Three people have tested positive for the South African variant of COVID-19 in Tunis, revealed a health official. Member of the scientific committee for the fight against the coronavirus Hechmi Louzir said the infected are two men and a woman who arrived in the capital from abroad. He pointed to the importance of intensifying efforts to identify the people who came in contact with them and carry out the necessary tests to determine whether they were exposed to the variant. The Health Ministry has called on all people coming from abroad to adhere to preventive measures after authorities had exempted arrivals from compulsory quarantine. However, they excluded people arriving from countries where variants of the virus have appeared. Louzir had previously revealed that the UK variant is the most common strain in Tunisia, making 90 percent of infections compared to other strains. The epidemiological situation in the country is critical, he warned, noting 2,000 people are hospitalized, which “requires intensifying the inoculation process and compliance to the preventive measures.” Louzir further hailed the effectiveness of vaccines against mutations, saying they are helping lower the numbers of virus-related deaths. Tunisia has confirmed some 345,000 infections, 302,000 recoveries and 12,623 fatalities from the virus.

from Asharq AL-awsat https://english.aawsat.com/home/article/3001161/tunisia-detects-infections-south-african-variant-covid-19