Public warned to get vaccines, be cautious

As travellers from 6 African nations banned over Omicron concerns

Glocal
By Editor_1
Health authorities carry out random PCR tests – J. SUJEEWAKUMAR / ENCL/File
0

COLOMBO – Health officials urged the public to get vaccinated as soon as possible, including the booster dose at the correct time, as Omicron, the highly mutated variant of COVID-19, caused concern across the world, leading to many countries, including Sri Lanka, imposing travel bans from six African nations.

“As the new variant was discovered, Sri Lanka, like any other country,  took preventive measures by banning flights from the countries that show the spread of the new variant,” said Dr. Chandima Jeewandara, Director, Molecular and Cell Biology Unit of the University of Sri Jayewardenepura, of the travel ban slated to come into effect from Monday (29)

A statement from the Department of Government Information said on Saturday,, travellers from South Africa, Botswana, Zimbabwe, Namibia, Lesotho and Eswatini, will not be allowed to enter Sri Lanka from Monday, and travellers who had already arrived from the six countries over the past two days will have to undergo mandatory 14 days quarantine.

The World Health Organization (WHO) on Friday (26) declared the new coronavirus variant to be “of concern”. It was first reported to the WHO from South Africa on Wednesday (24) and has since been identified in Botswana, Belgium, Hong Kong, Israel, the Netherlands, Germany and Australia.

Cautioning that no country has been successful in preventing the variants coming in, Dr.  Jeewandara warned there was a likelihood of the Omicron variant being identified in Sri Lanka in the future. He said the with the travel ban, the aim is to slow down that likelihood as much as possible.

Reports said preliminary evidence suggests an increased risk of reinfection with the Omicron variant, compared to other variants of concern, with a number of cases detected in almost all the provinces in South Africa.

Dr. Jeewandara said Omicron is the fifth variant of concern, but that it was of concern to the scientific community because of his high (about 30) S-gene mutations.

“Of those 30 mutations, around 10 may affect the transmission. Therefore, scientists predict it may spread faster than the Delta variant, he warned, but said scientists were still investigating the biology of the variant.

Dr. Jeewandara said as a preventive measure the Molecular and Cell Biology Unit is planning to increase the gene sequencing test numbers to detect any new variants coming to Sri Lanka.

Dr. Jeewndara advised the public to stick to the basic guidelines and to get the vaccine as well as the booster shots as soon as possible, explaining, “The booster will boost the antibodies in the body.”

-EN/ENCL

Editor_1
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