The CoV-2 Virus, known as the Delta Variant, is rapidly sweeping across the globe. This new variant appears to spread faster, cause more severe disease and is more likely to result in hospitalization.
First detected in India, it has now reached 132 countries and territories. “Delta is a warning: it’s a warning that the virus is evolving but it is also a call to action that we need to move now before more dangerous variants emerge,” the WHO’s emergencies director Michael Ryan told a press conference.
It was in the Wuhan city of China that first cases of the coronavirus were found in December 2019. It has spread across the globe since then. The latest outbreak in China was first found in Jiangsu in June, and officials blamed the highly transmissible Delta strain for it.
Soon after the outbreak, local authorities ramp up nucleic acid screening tests in a bid to detect positive cases at the earliest possible stage.
E-commerce platforms and delivery agents who sustained essential services in the heights of global lockdown are back to the rescue. One won’t forget in a hurry how the services of the likes of Jumia led essential delivery services to thousands of homes in Nigeria at the time.
In Africa, 17 countries have reported the Delta variant. The variant is causing the worst wave of COVID seen thus far on the continent. As disclosed by the World Health Organization, the Delta variant has spiked Covid-19 deaths in Africa by 80% in one month.
Ghana, South Africa, Democratic Republic of Congo and Zimbabwe are on the list of most hit on the continent.
On Thursday 8th July, the Nigerian government said a case of the dangerous delta variant has been recorded in a traveller in the country. The country has so far recorded 32 cases of the variant in 5 states according to according to the NCDC.
To keep the new variant in check, the Covid-19 Presidential Task Force has warned Nigerians to stick to the existing distancing and hygiene protocols.
One of the ways to preserve free movement and economic activities is to revisit some of the online shopping culture of the pandemic era.
For those who have returned to their physical shopping culture, it is time to reenact that Covid-19 precaution mood.
The likes of Jumia Food provide a wide range of options for groceries and beverages. Partnering with the notable fast food and local restaurants in the country, the Jumia platform offers food shopping options from safety.
It is thus advisable on the home front that while we all go about our daily activities, contact limitation and social distancing can still be achieved.
There are several offices with a tradition of ordering lunch for staff on the Jumia Food platform.
Other companies can take a leaf from this. It saves work time and also helps keep staff safe while at work. Away from the workplace, individuals should also revisit the online shopping culture, especially for groceries and other home essentials.
Avoiding crowded places remains key to limiting the spread of covid-19 and its more lethal Delta variant. E-commerce was crucial to limiting the spread of the virus in the heat of the first wave, and still remains a vital tool for all, as we strive to overcome a third wave led by the more deadly Delta variant.
