The Minister of Health Sylvia Masebo has disclosed that the country has detected three SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant isolates among samples from individuals who tested positive for COVID-19 in the last one week.
Ms. Masebo said the cases were detected through the genomic sequencing laboratory at the University of Zambia, School of Veterinary Medicine yesterday.
Contained in a statement issued to ZANIS, Ms. Masebo revealed that the three detected cases include two males who are fully vaccinated and have a history of international travel, and an out-patient female of COVID-19 but not yet vaccinated.
The Minister added that two cases were displaying mild flu like symptoms while one case is asymptomatic but that all are in isolation.
She noted that information on the symptoms of the new variant are still unclear but that there may be an increased risk of reinfection with Omicron as compared to other variants of concern.
Ms. Masebo said severity of the disease following infection with the Omicron variant is yet to be understood.
“There is currently no information to suggest that symptoms associated with Omicron are different from those associated with other variants,” Ms. Masebo indicated.
The Minister assured that the current COVID-19 vaccines remain effective against the pandemic.
Ms. Masebo said studies are underway to understand the potential impact of the Omicron variant on existing counter measures.
She urged members of the public to continue adhering to the Public Health and Social Measures as well as get vaccinated in an effort to manage the further spread.
Omicron is a variant of the SARS-CoV-2 that the World Health Organisation (WHO) designated as a ‘variant of concern’ on 26 November 2021. This means it has potential for increase in transmissibility, more severe disease with possible increased hospitalizations or deaths, reduced effectiveness of treatments or vaccines, or diagnostic detection failure.
Thank you hh for travelling aimlessly and bringing this new variant to our country
Omicron has been here long before these tests. These are just found because of being tested but others have the virus but not known because of not being tested. We need to enforce strict enforcement measures.
Fake news. Stop following your Donors instructions of scaring people in order to vaccinate them and reduce the world population through mass murder.
Masebo has been really current, keep it up
Accurate reporting by the Minister. This is what is expected. No lies, no exaggeration.
3 People are not enough !! Since the Lungu administration and denial
People still not concerned and unmasked through out Zambia
Sadly worse is still to come
Why people are panicking because of this ka variant, I don’t know.
If the incompetent PF was still in power we’d be having 1110 omicron cases by now.
Not true just a way of satisfying her mistakes
Lock the 3 sick people up in a medical facility in PF strongholds.
The only president who traveled aimlessly was Edgar Chagwa Lungu…and Zambia started going down since he took over in 2015.
She’s imitating Chitalu Chilufya, she has nothing much to do except invite investigators to search the whole Ministry. Isn’t Sylvia that presided over the dissolution of CBoH? There are no medicines in clinics and hospitals. Why can’t she visit these facilities to check their stock levels? There’s absolutely nothing. Hospitals and clinics only dispense ARVs the rest they just prescribe and that includes radiographs. How do general hospitals ask patients to get radiographs elsewhere because x-ray machines aren’t working? Even a junior officer can announce covid-19 statistics, Don’t reduce MoH to a covid-19 information centre