Tests at the Institut Pasteur in Guyana.
(illustration) -
JODY AMIET / AFP
Variants of Covid-19 have been identified in Saint-Barthélemy and Guyana, the day after the location of the first cases in Guadeloupe and Saint-Martin, authorities announced on Saturday.
The so-called English variant has been identified in two people in Saint-Barthélemy, the prefectures said in a statement.
"The presence now confirmed throughout the archipelago of the English-type variant should lead us to the greatest vigilance", they added.
"The spread of the epidemic, due to the superior contagiousness of this variant, could increase significantly", they warn, calling on the population to "strictly" respect barrier gestures.
In Guyana, "four first cases of variants were detected", one of the people having "died last week", said the prefecture in a press release.
"The samples will be subjected to sequencing to know with certainty the type of variant involved (English, South African or Brazilian)", she added.
After the confirmation of the presence of the English variant in nine people in Guadeloupe, the authorities on Saturday restricted travel between this island and Martinique, limiting them only to "compelling reasons".
This variant of Covid-19 has already been present in Martinique for a good week.
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The first cases of English variant identified in Guadeloupe and Saint-Martin
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A first case of an English variant detected in Martinique
Overseas
Covid 19
Guyana
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Coronavirus