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| New strain of coronavirus circulating in Senegal is more virulent |
Senegal has been experiencing an upsurge in new COVID-19 infections over
the past two weeks.
The Senegalese Minister of Health and Social Action Abdoulaye Diouf Sarr
disclosed on Saturday, the strain of the second wave of coronavirus currently
circulating in Senegal is “more virulent” than the first wave.
In an interview with the local newspaper Le Quotidien, Sarr said that
“the virus is considered to be more virulent.” in terms of the
aggressiveness of this second wave.
“Clearly, from the point of view of the statistics that we have on
the positivity rate by district, but also the attack rate and other parameters,
we can confirm that the start of this wave has a steep upward curve”
explained the Senegalese Minister of Health.
According to him, the health workers will continue their attempts to
delay the spread of the pandemic, amid the frustration of nine months of
COVID-19 fight.
Regarding the vaccine, he said that Senegal is a member of the COVAX
initiative, adding that the country looks forward to having the vaccine by the
second quarter of 2021 at the latest after the WHO approves a vaccine
candidate.
He also emphasized that all efforts to safeguard the vaccine process
would be taken by the Senegalese government.
To date, Senegal has recorded 18,523 positive COVID-19 cases since 2
March, including 16,881 recoveries and 387 fatalities.
