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The Ghana Health Service (GHS) has stated that the Covid-19 testing facility at Kotoka International Airport (KIA) can detect the new strain of Covid-19 spreading from Europe.
This was also confirmed by the Food and Drug Authority (FDA).
The service, however, has urged that, to be on the safer side, the country must do everything possible to ensure that the new variant is not imported into the country.
“We know that there is a new strain that according to studies is a little more efficient in terms of transmission from one person to another. What has not been proven so far is whether this causes a more serious disease than the previous one, ”said the director general of the service, Dr. Patrick Kuma-Aboagye.
This comment comes after news broke that other variants of the new coronavirus had been detected in parts of Europe, Japan and South Africa.
Scientists say the new strain has dozens of mutations, including genetic changes in the spike protein that the coronavirus uses to infect human cells. It is also said to be up to 70% more contagious.
In shedding more light on the matter, Dr. Kuma Aboagye stated that the new strain has yet to be identified in Ghana.
However, he is optimistic that with the measures implemented at the country’s international air border, the risk that the new variant will be imported into the country is very low.
“We in Ghana have not identified it here. But due to our double-level testing system at the airport, we believe that if these people who return home in isolation adhere to the protocols, we should be protected from bringing that strain into the country, “he said.
However, he has assured that if the new strain is identified in the country, the health service will do everything in its power to contain it.
