The strain of virus of the second wave of coronavirus currently circulating in Senegal is "more virulent" than that of the first wave, Senegalese Minister of Health and Social Action Abdoulaye Diouf Sarr revealed on Saturday.

In an interview with the local newspaper Le Quotidien, Sarr said that, in terms of the aggressiveness of this second wave, "the virus is considered to be more virulent."

"Clearly, from the point of view of the statistics that we have on the positivity rate by district, but also the attack rate and other parameters, we can confirm that the start of this wave has a steep upward curve", explained the Senegalese health minister.

According to him, health workers, despite the fatigue of nine months of fighting COVID-19, will continue with their efforts to slow the spread of the pandemic.

Regarding the vaccine, he said that Senegal is a member of the COVAX initiative, adding that the country looks forward to having the vaccine by the second quarter of 2021 at the latest after the WHO approves a vaccine candidate.

He also stressed that the Senegalese government will take all measures to secure the vaccination process.

Senegal has been experiencing an upsurge in new COVID-19 infections over the past two weeks.

Till today, Senegal has recorded, since March 2, 18,523 positive cases of COVID-19, including 16,881 recoveries and 387 deaths.