The Director of the National Center for Disease Control (NCDC), Dr. Badr El-Din Al-Najjar, has expressed concern that the variant (P1) coronavirus first detected in Brazil may have entered the country, confirming that they are conducting tests to track down any cases.
Al-Najjar explained in a press statement that the UK and South African variants have changed the epidemiological situation in the country for the worse.
"The new Covid mutations are spreading with dangerous efficiency, causing more deaths and critical cases and overcrowding isolation centers," the NCDC head said.
Al-Najjar confirmed there is no plan for a total lockdown or closing of schools, indicating that strict adherence to rules is enough at this stage.
Al-Najjar had confirmed that 5 million doses of the British AstraZeneca vaccine would arrive in Libya in succession, reaffirming that the first batch would arrive within two weeks.
The complex financial procedures and the global competition to obtain the vaccine have caused the delay of the vaccine's delivery, according to Al-Najjar.
He also accused the former government of failing to purchase the vaccine directly from the producing companies, leaving the Libyans waiting for the COVAX program, a world alliance created by the World Health Organization to ensure the delivery of the vaccine to developing countries.
