The Ghana Health Service (GHS) has revealed that the new Covid-19 variant spreads faster than the old one.
This was disclosed by the Director of Health Promotion at the Ghana Health Service (GHS), Dr. Dacosta Aboagye.
He said the new strain of the virus is transmitted between fifty to seventy (50-70) times faster.
According to him, Ghana has recorded cases of two different strains of the virus. One from the United Kingdom and another from South Africa.
“Both variants spread very fast and I am thinking 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 50-70 times faster than the normal ones we know ofâ€.
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He noted that the different strains were imported into the country via the Kotoka International Airport (KIA) but these individuals were put under isolation.
“We all know that with the reopening of our borders, we required anyone coming into the country to come along with a PCR test from their country of origin, and upon their arrival to Ghana, they undergo the antigen test and asked to self isolate.
"However, we recently changed our policy a bit and insisted that anyone who tested positive for COVID-19 will be housed in our facilities for a second testâ€.
Dr. Dacosta noted that for the second test, the positive cases were put through genetic sequencing and that was when “we noticed they were infected with the new variants from the UK and South Africaâ€.
The Director of Health Promotion at the GHS assured the populace the positive cases of the new variants are receiving treatment in isolation and treatment centers under the Ghana Health Service.