A doctor examines Covid-19 samples.

The highly contagious delta variant of the Covid-19 has been confirmed in the country.

This was revealed by the national Ministry of Health yesterday.

According to John Rumunu, the Director-General of Preventive Health Services in the Health Ministry, the strain was determined at the Uganda Virus Institute.

This was after the ministry sent 30 samples of positive cases that were earlier diagnosed in April, May, and early June for sequencing.

Dr. Rumunu says four out of fifteen samples sequenced tested positive for the Delta variant- all were imported cases.

“Out of 35 samples sent, fifteen were sequenced. Out of those fifteen four of those were Delta variant. We have the details of who those people are, but generally yes, I think all of them came from outside countries and they are imported cases,” Dr. Rumunu said.

Dr. Rumunu disclosed the results to reporters during the weekly briefing on the Coronavirus situation in the country yesterday.

According to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the Delta is the name for the B.1.617.2 Variant, a SARS-CoV-2 mutation that originally surfaced in India.

The first Delta case was identified in December 2020, and the strain spread rapidly, soon becoming the dominant strain of the virus in both India and then Great Britain.

The symptoms are similar to those seen with the original coronavirus strain and other variants, including a persistent cough, headache, fever, and sore throat.

The latest confirmation of the Delta variant means South Sudan has now three variants of the coronavirus.

In May, the Ministry of Health reported two different Covid-19 variants.

These include the Ugandan A 231 and the UK-Nigerian B1.5.2.5 that were sequenced at the same lab early this year.