Ukraine detects new COVID variant Stratus across 7 regions and Kyiv
The Stratus coronavirus variant detected in 7 regions of Ukraine and Kyiv (Illustrative photo: Getty Images)
Medical professionals have already confirmed cases of the new Stratus coronavirus variant in seven regions of Ukraine, states Oleksii Danylenko, acting director general of the Public Health Center.
According to him, the current COVID-19 situation in Ukraine is fully under control. However, similar to last year, there is a noted increase in COVID-19 cases during the summer period.
Data from the routine epidemiological surveillance system show that last week there were 684 COVID-19 cases recorded, compared to 494 cases the previous week.
What is known about Stratus
Currently, Stratus is one of the two dominant coronavirus variants worldwide.
As of July 16, Ukraine had confirmed 38 cases of Stratus infection in the Vinnytsia, Dnipropetrovsk, Zhytomyr, Zaporizhzhia, Kyiv, Poltava, and Chernihiv regions - as well as in Kyiv city itself.
Available data show that the new variant has an increased ability to spread but does not lead to more severe illness. In most cases, symptoms are limited to the upper respiratory tract, such as hoarseness.
COVID-19 update
Earlier, experts identified the main symptom of the new contagious COVID variant spreading worldwide. According to doctors, this new strain could trigger an outbreak during the vacation season.
It is also worth noting that on August 6, the new Stratus variant was detected in the Poltava region. Globally, the share of this COVID-19 variant has increased from 7.4% to 22.7% over the past month.
