Kenyans urged to heighten vigilance for Indian variant circulating in Kisumu

Health Cabinet Secretary Mutahi Kagwe has urged Kenyans to be extra vigilant to curb the spread of the deadly Covid-19 Indian variant which was detected in Kisumu.

Toured Kibra polio vaccine centre, Kagwe said the variant spreads faster than the South African variant.

“We have detected the India variant, particularly in Kisumu, through genome sequencing and it is good for us to know so we can prepare,” he said.

He confirmed that 28 people have contracted the deadly mutant strain since the first five cases were detected early this month in Kisumu.

Further, he appealed to County governments to be ready in case the variant spreads.

The deadly Indian Covid-19 variant was detected in Kisumu early this month days after Kenya banned flights from the country.

Health Director General Dr Patrick Amoth said that the cases were reported in five people working in a fertilizer plant in Kisumu.

The five people are said to be Indian nationals working on a fertiliser plant.

“This variant has been picked in Kenya and because of connectivity, it was just a matter of time. You cannot be able to put barriers to prevent a virus from accessing your territory,” Amoth said.

“We picked this from a sample of Indian travellers who are doing some work in the western part of Kisumu. We have gone ahead together with the Kisumu county health team to do contact tracing.”