{"id":10389,"date":"2021-11-29T21:20:27","date_gmt":"2021-11-29T21:20:27","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/malawi\/all-news\/new-covid-variant-malawi-intensifies-screening-of-travellers"},"modified":"2021-11-29T21:43:24","modified_gmt":"2021-11-29T21:43:24","slug":"new-covid-variant-malawi-intensifies-screening-of-travellers","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/malawi\/all-news\/new-covid-variant-malawi-intensifies-screening-of-travellers","title":{"rendered":"New Covid variant: Malawi intensifies screening of travellers"},"content":{"rendered":"

Africa-Press – Malawi. <\/strong><\/span>The World Health Organization has classified the variant as B.1.1.529 (Omicron) and is characterized by an increased risk of re-infection as compared to the other variants of concern.<\/p>\n

According to Mwansambo, Malawi has the capacity to do genomic sequencing and the ministry routinely conduct genomic sequencing on COVID-19 positive case samples to track the type of variants circulating in the country.<\/p>\n

\u201cSo far from the samples that we have been collecting, the Omicron variant has not been isolated. However, surveillance on the same has been intensified and the country will be informed accordingly on any developments. Apart from tracking the variant, the Ministry has also intensified the screening of travellers at all points of entry to prevent importation of COVID-19 cases,\u201d said Mwansambo.<\/p>\n

On reports that a traveller from Malawi was identified with the new variant in Israel, Mwansambo said the ministry has not been communicated but it is following up the issue to get more details to ascertain the incident and to facilitate contact tracing.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt is important to note that we screen both the incoming and outgoing travellers to ensure that they have a negative PCR test certificate. Those that are COVID-19 positive are not allowed to leave the country. There is a possible risk of getting infected with COVID-19 whilst in transit hence all travellers are encouraged to strictly follow all the preventive measures,\u201d said Mwansambo.<\/p>\n

He then warned that the virus is mutating hence the need for everyone to strictly adhere to measures including proper wearing of masks, frequent hand-washing with soap or use of hand sanitizers, physical distancing, improving ventilation of indoor spaces and avoiding mass gathering.<\/p>\n

Mwansambo also encouraged everyone aged 18 years and above to get vaccinated amid the threat of the 4th wave so that people\u2019s bodies should be prepared to fight the virus.<\/p>\n

For More News And Analysis About Malawi<\/a> Follow Africa-Press<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Africa-Press – Malawi. The World Health Organization has classified the variant as B.1.1.529 (Omicron) and is characterized by an increased risk of re-infection as compared to the other variants of concern. According to Mwansambo, Malawi has the capacity to do genomic sequencing and the ministry routinely conduct genomic sequencing on COVID-19 positive case samples to […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":84,"featured_media":10388,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2,8,12],"tags":[233,371,320,2235,234,335],"class_list":["post-10389","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-all-news","category-homepage-english","category-policy","tag-africa-press","tag-africa-press-malawi","tag-covid-19","tag-dr-charles-mwansambo-2","tag-malawi","tag-ministry-of-health"],"yoast_head":"\nNew Covid variant: Malawi intensifies screening of travellers - Malawi<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"The World Health Organization has classified the variant as B.1.1.529 (Omicron) and is characterized by an increased ris ...\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/malawi\/all-news\/new-covid-variant-malawi-intensifies-screening-of-travellers\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"New Covid variant: Malawi intensifies screening of travellers\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The World Health Organization has classified the variant as B.1.1.529 (Omicron) and is characterized by an increased ris ...\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/malawi\/all-news\/new-covid-variant-malawi-intensifies-screening-of-travellers\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Malawi\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/AfricaPressTunisiaa\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2021-11-29T21:20:27+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2021-11-29T21:43:24+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/malawi\/sites\/36\/2021\/11\/img-61a5496331b13.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1024\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"512\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"cfeditoren\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"cfeditoren\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"2 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/malawi\/all-news\/new-covid-variant-malawi-intensifies-screening-of-travellers#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/malawi\/all-news\/new-covid-variant-malawi-intensifies-screening-of-travellers\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"cfeditoren\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/malawi\/#\/schema\/person\/068c7ab4e9634ae78ec5d54ec46598bb\"},\"headline\":\"New Covid variant: Malawi intensifies screening of travellers\",\"datePublished\":\"2021-11-29T21:20:27+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2021-11-29T21:43:24+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/malawi\/all-news\/new-covid-variant-malawi-intensifies-screening-of-travellers\"},\"wordCount\":322,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/malawi\/all-news\/new-covid-variant-malawi-intensifies-screening-of-travellers#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/static.africa-press.net\/malawi\/sites\/36\/2021\/11\/img-61a5496331b13.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"Africa Press\",\"Africa Press-Malawi\",\"Covid-19\",\"Dr Charles Mwansambo\",\"Malawi\",\"Ministry of Health\"],\"articleSection\":[\"all news\",\"homepage-english\",\"policy\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/malawi\/all-news\/new-covid-variant-malawi-intensifies-screening-of-travellers#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/malawi\/all-news\/new-covid-variant-malawi-intensifies-screening-of-travellers\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/malawi\/all-news\/new-covid-variant-malawi-intensifies-screening-of-travellers\",\"name\":\"New Covid variant: Malawi intensifies screening of travellers - 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