Ghana says it has detected omicron variant in passengers at airport

The cases were detected at the Kotoka International Airport in the capital, Accra, after tests were conducted on incoming passengers
A new COVID-19 variant has been detected in South Africa that scientists say is a concern because of its high number of mutations  (Photo | AP)
A new COVID-19 variant has been detected in South Africa that scientists say is a concern because of its high number of mutations (Photo | AP)

ACCRA: Ghana says that its scientists have detected cases of the omicron coronavirus variant in passengers who arrived in the country on Nov. 21.

The cases were detected at the Kotoka International Airport in the capital, Accra, after tests were conducted on incoming passengers, the Director General of the Ghana Health Service Patrick Kuma-Aboagye said Wednesday.

“We have not seen any omicron within the community of Ghana,” he said, according to tests in the country. But, he added, the danger is that omicron could be incubating in Ghana.

Weekly samples of 200 passengers arriving at the airport detected that 28% from Nigeria and South Africa had the variant, said William Ampofo, a virologist at the Noguchi Memorial Institute for Medical Research, where the sequencing was done.

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