The State Department of Health of Rio de Janeiro (SES-RJ) announced the identification of the new variant of the Covid virus in Rio de Janeiro late this morning. The strain received the name of P.1.2, because it is a change that occurred in the P.1 line – which appeared in Manaus.
“The objective of the study is to foresee the evaluation of the epidemiological scenario in the state of Rio de Janeiro to anticipate possible genomic alterations of the already known variants and to prepare the state and the municipalities to face any alteration that may change the pattern of the disease”, he affirmed. the superintendent of Epidemiological Surveillance of the Secretary of State for Health, Mário Sérgio Ribeiro.
Also according to the superintendent, still it is not possible to know whether P.1.2 is more lethal or more transmissible . The epidemiological impact is yet to be assessed.
The technical note of the state presents the genomic study with samples carried out between March 24th and April 16th. The study was carried out in partnership between the Lacen-RJ laboratory and the State Department of Health. According to the City Hall of Rio das Ostras, variants P.1 and P.2 have already been confirmed, previously, in the city.
“The presence of these variants in the municipality and the emergence of a new strain reinforce the importance of surveillance and monitoring of virus dispersions, the need to maintain all measures to prevent contagion and to maintain sanitary barriers”, warned the municipality.
