Namibia confirms first cases of Delta COVID-19 variants after genome sequencing

WINDHOEK, July 5– Namibia’s Health Ministry on Monday announced that the latest genome sequencing exercises covering the months of May and June have revealed that in 17 out of 18 samples done in the country, the Delta variant was identified. In a statement, Namibia’s Ministry of Health executive director Ben Nangombe said the samples were obtained from…

WINDHOEK, July 5 (Xinhua) — Namibia’s Health Ministry on Monday announced that the latest genome sequencing exercises covering the months of May and June have revealed that in 17 out of 18 samples done in the country, the Delta variant was identified.

In a statement, Namibia’s Ministry of Health executive director Ben Nangombe said the samples were obtained from positive COVID-19 cases from the central Khomas region.

“This is the first report on the detection of the Delta variant in Namibia,” he said, adding that more genomic sequencing activities will be carried out in the coming weeks to determine the extent to which the variant may be present in the rest of the country.

According to the ministry, as of July 3, the Delta variant has been detected in at least 98 countries around the world and is quickly becoming the dominant strain in many countries

As of July 4, Namibia has recorded a total of 1,662 deaths since the COVID-19 pandemic started. Enditem