Sílvia Lutucuta said that between January and March 5, seven cases of the South African variant and six cases of the English variant were registered, with four cases still being investigated.
Of the English variant, three suspicions were detected at the airport, in the post-landing test, which was immediately isolated in the center of Barra do Kwanza. Two of the passengers were from Lisbon and one from São Tomé and Príncipe.
"In relation to this variant, we had two cases from Lisbon, which were detected at the end of the home quarantine, one case generated two cases in your family, they are all negative and the other did not generate cases," said the minister.
In this same group, continued Sílvia Lutucuta, there is a case of a person, residing in Luanda, without a travel history, in which all his usual contacts were negative.
With regard to the South African variant, five of the cases were detected at the airport, promptly isolated in Barra do Kwanza and the rest were in charge of isolation in the private sector. these cases come from Cameroon (1), Mozambique (4), Tanzania (1) and a case study, in which all aspects related to his epidemiological situation are being evaluated, with only certainty that he is a resident in Luanda.
"Of these cases of the South African variant, we have a case that was also detected at the end of the quarantine, by a sports team, which did not generate new positive cases and was also in institutional isolation and we have the case that was diagnosed and which is still in progress. study ", he stressed.
Regarding the two new variants under study, there are three cases of three players from the Tanzanian football team - a new variant - that was not yet known and that must be related to some variant of that country.
"It is worth mentioning that the team when they climbed our country was here for 48 hours in confinement and the positive cases were hospitalized in Barra do Kwanza, so this variant will probably have a nomenclature related to Tanzania and we have a case, which is also under study , of a new variant from Nigeria, of a passenger from Mali, who was also isolated ", he stressed.
According to the minister, since the end of December, the multisectoral commission to fight covid-19 and the sector responsible for health have mobilized to find conditions for geno-dissipation, as soon as new highly transmissible variants associated with high mortality were referenced. and also in young people without comorbidities.
The minister stressed that bilateral contacts were established, in addition to creating conditions in the country, to work with the KRISP Laboratory, in South Africa, where a 'task force' was created, with South African specialists and the University of Oxford, in genomic studies and with particular interest in alterations or mutations in the SARS-COV-2 virus.
The holder of the Health portfolio said that the cases detected are associated with travelers from abroad, mainly in the festive season and that they returned to the country in January and February, in addition to other cases.
The minister stressed the importance of the measures implemented rigorously, namely pre-departure testing, up to 72 hours, testing at the airport immediately after disembarkation and institutional quarantine for positive cases detected at the airport, in addition to the home quarantine that must be complied with. rigorously and at the end of which all travelers must be tested even with previous negative results.
"We must not let our guard down, these variants may be in circulation in our country, especially in the capital, Luanda, it will not be too difficult to have a worse scenario", said the minister, recalling that many of the home quarantines were not met to the letter. , which may have generated new cases.
A study of the behavior of these new variants in Angola is underway, the minister stressed, which is why vigilance is needed.
The vaccination process underway in the country, stressed the minister, must have the support of citizens when their turn comes, until then, individual protection measures must be prevention.
"We call on health professionals to join this campaign, which is safe, free and saves lives," she said, adding that since the beginning of the campaign, around 6,000 professionals have already been vaccinated in Luanda.
For this Tuesday, the vaccination of people over 65 and with comorbidities in the Paz Flor Complex is scheduled to start.
