Antigua and Barbuda’s Ministry of Health, Wellness and the Environment have confirmed that the Delta variant of the coronavirus COVID-19 is now in the country.
The ministry said in a statement that it received this confirmation from the Caribbean Public Health Agency (CARPHA) based in Trinidad.
The delta strain was first identified in India in October last year.
As a result of this development, the authorities there are urging nationals to get vaccinated.
“The alpha variant of concern, first identified in Antigua and Barbuda late last month, was identified in the other six samples. The delta variant is identified by multiple spike protein mutations. It is more transmissible, may cause more severe disease, hospitalisations, increased intensive care unit (ICU) admissions and death. There is also preliminary evidence of twice the rate of hospitalisation for unvaccinated persons when compared to those who are vaccinated,” the ministry said in a statement.
“The Ministry of Health Wellness and the Environment has also increased its surveillance for SARS CoV-2 variants at the laboratory at the Sir Lester Bird Mount St John’s Medical Centre which now has the capacity to detect SARS CoV-2 variants.
“As a result of this increased surveillance we have been able to identify the alpha, beta and delta variants of concern in Antigua and Barbuda. The public is reminded that after recording no active cases of COVID-19 for a few weeks we are now seeing an increase in the number of cases,” the ministry added.
Antigua has, to date, recorded 42 deaths and 1, 277 positive cases.
