In the wake of Omicron, here is how to stay safe

As of Tuesday last week, the government had announced the discovery of nine cases of the Omicron variant of Covid-19. Although research is underway to know more about this variant, the Ministry of Health has put in place several measures to prevent its spread.

Just when the country was warming up for a total reopening of the economy in January 2022, a new Covid-19 variant known as Omicron has emerged. According to the Centre for Disease Control (CDC) website, the first case of Omicron in the USA was found in an individual returning from South Africa on November 22.

“The individual had mild symptoms that are improving, is self-quarantining and has since been testing positive. All close contacts have been contacted and have tested negative. Genomic sequencing was conducted at the University of California, San Francisco and the sequence was confirmed at CDC as being consistent with the Omicron variant. This will be the first confirmed case of Covid-19 caused by the Omicron variant detected in the United States,” the site states.

According to cbsnews.com, as of November 30, Dutch health authorities had announced finding the new Omicron Covid-19 variant in cases dating back 11 days, indicating that the infection was already spreading in Western Europe before the first cases were identified in southern Africa.

Africanews.com shares that Dr Sikhulile Moyo, a virologist at the Botswana Harvard Aids Institute Partnership, may have been the first doctor to notice the new variant. It was while carrying out genomic sequencing of Covid-19 samples at his lab in Botswana that he noticed three cases that seemed dramatically different, with an unusual pattern showing multiple mutations.

The variant that has been identified in 38 countries, and counting, including much of western Europe and the United States, was named ‘Omicron’ by the World Health Organisation (WHO) and designated as a variant of concern.

The situation in Uganda?

According to Dr Jane Ruth Aceng, the minister of health, to date, the country has registered 127,485 confirmed cases of Covid-19 and 3,252 deaths. “Furthermore, the current admissions stand at 115 in both public and private facilities. The country has sustained low transmission of Covid-19 with a positivity rate of less than five percent since September 2021,” she says.

While not much is known about the variant, since it is new, Dr Aceng says this variant is reported to have 32 mutations (genetic changes) in the spike protein gene (the coat of the virus).

“These are more than those identified in several other variants of concern, including the Delta and Alpha variants. These changes, it is feared, could potentially render the virus more infectious, and harder to detect using available laboratory tests and may cause more severe disease.  However, these are still under research and are yet to be well documented,” she clarifies.

That said, it is important to note that the Omicron variant has also been detected in Uganda, with nine cases confirmed so far.

Research

In the face of Omicron, the WHO is coordinating with several researchers around the world to better understand the variant. Studies underway include assessment of transmissibility, severity of infection, performance of current available vaccines, performance of the available Covid-19 diagnostics tests, and effectiveness of treatments.

Hon Aceng says more information will be available in the coming weeks, which will be shared with the general public. In the meantime, the Ministry of Health (MoH) continues to closely monitor the evolution of the spread of the Omicron variant globally and a number of measures have been instituted to prevent the fast spreading of the variant in the country.

Travellers

1. Mandatory testing of all incoming travellers upon arrival at Entebbe International Airport will continue. However, passengers will be allowed to proceed to their destination once their sample has been collected. “We believe that the daily average of six cases is still a manageable number that our surveillance teams can easily track and follow up,” she says.

2.  Testing of incoming travellers at other points of entry such as Malaba, Busia, Mutukula, Elegu, Mpondwe and Katuna will be conducted by the private laboratories at government set rates, as MoH continues to build capacity for testing as directed by Cabinet.

3. Persons who test positive shall be tracked and put under home-based care or in health facility-based isolation depending on the severity of disease. “Asymptomatic cases will be placed under home-based care and followed up by the MoH via the toll free line 0800-100-066 daily. Positive cases will be subject to a repeat PCR test on the seventh day,” the minister clarifies.

4. Symptomatic cases requiring admission shall be managed at designated Covid-19 treatment units while all positive samples from travellers shall undergo genomic sequencing to enable detection of Omicron and other variants.

5. All travellers are requested to be honest and sincere when sharing details of their addresses and contacts. This is to enable prompt follow-up to prevent the spread of the virus. “Giving false addresses puts the entire country at risk. We are relying on you to help us take precautions to avoid spread of the infection,” Dr Aceng says.

Vaccination

Dr Ruth Aceng, the minister of health, says government continues to prioritise Covid-19 vaccination as a strategic intervention to control the pandemic, including the effects posed by the new variants. “So far, government has received a total of 17,131,090 doses through donations and direct procurement, of which 10,523,853 doses have been distributed countrywide. Distribution of the remaining 6,607,237 doses is ongoing,” she says.

Regarding uptake, Hon Aceng says 6,973,161 doses of the Covid-19 vaccine have been administered to the population. “Of these, 5,767,857 (25 percent) of the 22 million eligible persons have received the first dose of the Covid-19 vaccines while 1,205,161 (five percent) have received the second dose,” she says, adding that an additional 15,563,650 doses of various vaccines are expected by end of December 2021.

In order to increase uptake, MoH has expanded the vaccination activity from only static sites in the health facilities to include outreaches in the communities such as villages, churches, taxi parks, and markets.

Additional measures

● Samples will be taken from alerts or people who develop Covid-19-like symptoms from communities in the country. Those that test positive will also be subjected to genomic sequencing. “This will enable us to search for presence of the Omicron variant or any other new variant that may develop,” she says.

● Increase the uptake of Covid-19 vaccination; the vaccination campaign is being accelerated to increase coverage.

● Adherence to Covid-19 Standard Operating Procedures. “This is a must including mandatory use of face masks when in public, maintaining good hand hygiene at all times, avoiding crowds and keeping a distance of at least two metres. 

These preventive measures, the minister adds, will help stop the spread of the virus since the more Covid-19 circulates among the communities, the more opportunities the virus has to change (mutate).