South Africa Covid-19 variant detected in Zimbabwe

ZTN Correspondent

Zimbabwe has 61 percent dominance of the South African Covid-19 variant, Information Minister Monica Mutsvangwa told journalists in Harare on Tuesday.

This emerged as authorities revealed that Covid-19 vaccination will begin on Thursday.

As at 15 February, Zimbabwe had 35 222 cases, 410 deaths and 30 759 recoveries.

Minister Mutsvangwa said genomic sequencing which was carried out shows that the type of Covid-19 virus that the nation had in 2020 had receded.

“There is now a 61 percent dominance of the new South African variant of the COVID-19 virus which spreads faster and has a higher fatality rate,” she said.

Scientists are yet to establish if the available vaccines are effective against this strain of the virus.

The minister cautioned, “The nation now needs to be more vigilant than before and adhere to Covid-19 prevention and control measures”.

She said security personnel have now been directed to intensify monitoring and enforcement to enhance compliance with set regulations.