13 ME nations report new variant cases: WHO

BEIRUT: Coronavirus case numbers are stabilising in parts of the Middle East but the situation remains critical, with more than a dozen countries reporting cases of new variants, the World Health Organisation ( WHO) said on Monday.

Ahmed Al Mandhari, director of WHO’S eastern Mediterranean region, which comprises most of the Middle East, said in a press briefing from Cairo that at least one of the three new coronavirus variants was reported in the 13 countries in the region. He did not name the countries. All three of the new variants are more contagious, according to WHO.

Al Mandhari said there are nearly 6 million confirmed cases of coronavirus in the region and about 140,000 deaths. WHO urged people to continue taking precautionary measures against the virus.

The organisation said 6.3 million vaccinations have been administered in 12 countries in the eastern Mediterranean.

“Vaccinations are a turning point in facing the virus but the vaccines alone are not enough,” Al Mandhari said, adding that social distancing, wearing masks and keeping clean remains a main way to fight the spread.

He said as many people as possible should be vaccinated before they are subjected to the new variants of the virus.

Tunisia is expected to receive around 37,000 doses, while 94,000 doses will go to the West Bank and Gaza Strip, he said, without specifying the brands.

The remaining countries in WHO’S region are due to receive “an estimated 46 million to 56 million doses of the Astrazeneca-oxford vaccine... during the first half of this year,” Mandhari said.

Since the start of the pandemic, there have been more than six million confirmed cases of the virus across the EMRO region, including 140,000 deaths, Mandhari said.

Thirteen countries are affected by variants of the coronavirus, he added. The programme seeks to provide vaccines to developing nations.

Al Mandhari said overall the number of new coronavirus cases in the region has stabilised despite increases in Lebanon and some other countries.

Lebanon has been one of the hardest hit countries in the region in recent weeks with hospitals working at near maximum capacity amid a nationwide lockdown. Lebanon began a vaccination campaign on Sunday.

A nation of 6 million people including a million Syrian refugees, Lebanon has confirmed nearly 340,000 cases.

Iran remains the eastern Mediterranean country with the highest number of confirmed cases at about 1.5 million.