Government has confirmed that Uganda has registered Covid-19 cases with the South African strain B1 351 and Nigerian variant B.1.525.

The two variants are said to be more contagious than the usual virus. Prof Pontiano Kaleebu, the executive director of Uganda Virus Research Institute (UVRI), said a few people have been reported with these strains adding that for now, Ugandans should not be worried.

Asked whether these strains will have an effect on the Covid-19 vaccine, Prof Kaleebu said they will continue watching and tracking.

Uganda rolled out its vaccination campaign against Covid-19 and by March 23, at least 32,526 people had been vaccinated, according to Ministry of Health data.

This comes a month after the country registered a different strain, A3, which was first seen in some infected people in northern Uganda. However, this strain has also been reported in other countries in Europe, USA, and Rwanda.

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), Variant 501Y.V2 also known as B1.351, was first identified in South Africa and has now been detected in at least eight African countries. According to one of the international media outlets, this month health officials in Mississippi also registered the B1.351 strain and raised concerns on whether it might impact the effectiveness of vaccines.