Virus variant first detected in India found in Botswana

The new COVID-19 variant B.1.617 which was first discovered in India was confirmed in Botswana on May 13, the health ministry announced on Monday.

Christopher Nyanga, permanent secretary in the Ministry of Health and Wellness, said as of May 16, two people tested positive for the B.1.617 variant following arrival in the country of people of Indian origin on April 24.

"The two cases were part of 383 people, both Botswanan individuals and some Indian nationals who were tested for COVID-19. From this number, 43 tested positive, with two showing the B.1.617 variant. The patients are currently receiving medical care and remain stable with no life-threatening symptoms," he said in a statement.

Botswana has become the eighth African country where the Indian coronavirus variant has been confirmed. The other countries are Nigeria, Algeria, Kenya, Democratic Republic of the Congo, Morocco, Uganda and South Africa, Africanews reported recently.

The World Health Organization (WHO) has designated the COVID-19 B.1.617 first found in India in October last year as a variant of global concern. The variant has now spread to about 44 countries worldwide. Other COVID-19 variants of concern so classified by the WHO include the B.1.1.7 first detected in the United Kingdom, the B.1.351 first detected in South Africa and the P.1. first detected in Brazil.

As of May 18, the Reuters COVID-19 Tracker reported that there were approximately 4.74 million reported infections and 126,000 reported deaths caused by the novel coronavirus in Africa. A million new infections are reported every 95 days with South Africa, Egypt, Botswana, Tunisia and Ethiopia topping the new infection charts every day.

South Africa, Egypt, Tunisia, Ethiopia and Kenya are the countries reporting the most deaths each day. A wave of new infections on the continent has partly been attributed to the advent of the COVID-19 variants.

According to information released by the WHO Regional Office for Africa on May 14, 49 African countries are rolling out COVID-19 vaccines and more than 22 million doses have been given on the continent.

The WHO said that there was a vaccine supply crunch with about 40 nations relying on doses from COVAX and the Serum Institute of India being left behind as vaccines made in India are diverted for domestic use.