By Sue-Ann Wayow
OF the four variants of concern of the Covid-19 virus, the Delta variant to date is the one that spreads most quickly.
Professor of Molecular Genetics and Virology Christine Carrington says this means that public health prevention methods put in place would not be as assertive in combating the virus’s variant.
She was speaking at the Ministry of Health’s virtual media conference on Monday.
The ministry reported its sixth case of the Delta variant on Sunday.
She used an analogy to make her point.
Prof Carrington said, “When you have the public health interventions trying to reduce the amount of transmission, it is like trying to go down an up escalator, and the Delta that up escalator is moving faster than some of the other variants.”
She added, “It is also been shown to cause more disease and death so it is a concern in that area as well. Yes, Delta is a major concern but what we need to focus on is the fact that Sars Cov-2 is a major concern. Whether there are variants or not, the rate of severe disease and death by any lineage or version of the virus is significant.”
Infection prevention also remained the same regardless of variant type.
“We need to take all Covid-19 seriously and actually reduce the number of infections,” Prof Carrington said.
