LDN - Health and Fitness

Raising fears of COVID surge, Uganda detects Indian variant, official says

[April 30, 2021] By Elias Biryabarema

KAMPALA (Reuters) - Uganda has detected the Indian variant of the novel coronavirus, igniting fears the East African nation could suffer a resurgence of cases just when its outbreak has waned, a senior health official said on Friday.

"Yes, we have got one individual who has that variant," Pontiano Kaleebu, head of the government-run Uganda Virus Research Institute (UVRI) told Reuters on Friday.

The variant, he said, had been detected in recent days on a Ugandan who had returned from a visit to India. He did not immediately have further information.

Health Ministry spokesman Emmanuel Ainebyoona told Reuters the country's coronavirus task-force would discuss the situation on Friday.

So far, Uganda, like many African countries, has experienced a relatively mild COVID-19 outbreak.

But concerns it could be vulnerable to contagion from the Indian variant are underscored by its large Indian community and strong relationship between the two countries as India is a major exporter to Uganda.

As of Tuesday, Uganda had reported 41,797 infections and 342 deaths, health ministry data showed.

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On Thursday, the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention warned India's intense outbreak was a reminder that Africa must stay vigilant.

The head of the health agency John Nkengasong said the African Union will convene a meeting of African health ministers on May 8 to "put everybody on alert".

India reported more than 379,000 new coronavirus cases and 3,645 new deaths on Thursday alone. It was the highest number of deaths reported in a single day in the world's second most populous country since the start of the pandemic.

(Reporting by Elias Biryabarema; editing by Omar Mohammed and Barbara Lewis)

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