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A potentially more infectious new variant of the novel coronavirus has been found in the UK in cases related to South Africa, said British Health Secretary Matt Hancock, while announcing that more swaths of England would be subjected to the strictest COVID restrictions. -19.
South Africa’s health department said last week that a new genetic mutation of the virus had been discovered and could be responsible for a recent spike in infections there.
“Thanks to the impressive genomic capacity of South Africans, we have detected two cases of another new coronavirus variant here in the UK,” Hancock told a news conference on Wednesday.
“They are both case contacts who have traveled from South Africa in recent weeks.”
The UK is already trying to curb the spread of a separate mutated strain of the virus discovered in the UK that could be up to 70 percent more transmissible, and more studies are underway.
“This new variant [from South Arica] it is very worrying, because it is even more transmissible and appears to have mutated more than the new variant has been discovered in the UK, “he said.
Susan Hopkins from Public Health England said that the new variant in the UK “is very different from the variant in South Africa, it has different mutations.”
“Both seem to be more transmittable. We have more evidence on transmission of the UK variant because we have been studying it in great detail with academic partners. We are still learning about the South African variant. “
He expressed confidence that the vaccines that have already been developed should be effective “because the vaccine produces a strong immune response and is broad and acts against many variations in the virus.”
Travel restrictions
Hancock announced travel restrictions on flights from South Africa as a result of the detection of the new strain.
The health minister said that all the people in the UK who had contracted the variant native to South Africa had been quarantined, as well as their close contacts.
Additionally, Hancock said the government was also asking anyone who has been in close contact with someone who has been to South Africa in the past two weeks to self-quarantine.
People walk and bike in London [Hannah McKay/Reuters]
“They must restrict all contact with any other person,” he said.
Haru Mutasa, reporting from Johannesburg, said that South Africa averages just under 10,000 new infections per day.
“South African officials say they alerted the UK to this new variant last week,” he said.
“They say it spreads faster and could be responsible for the second wave that (South Africa) is currently experiencing. It has been identified in the Kwazulu-Natal province in the Eastern Cape and the Garden Route area, which is the Cape Town area. “
Meanwhile, more than 50 countries have also imposed their own travel restrictions on the UK, including France.
More local curbs announced
In response to a growing number of coronavirus cases, the UK ordered a series of restrictions on affected areas on Saturday.
On Wednesday, Hancock announced new coronavirus-related restrictions in England, citing an increase in cases.
Hancock said that as of Dec. 26, many more parts of the south of England would also be added to the higher level of social mixing restrictions, joining the 16 million already at Level 4, while other areas of the country that currently at lower levels would also face stricter restrictions. .
The UK reported nearly 40,000 new infections on Wednesday, and the number of recorded deaths was 744, the highest since April.
With more than 68,000 deaths from the virus, the UK is one of the worst affected countries in Europe.
Hancock said there was an average of 1,909 hospital admissions for COVID per day, with 18,943 people currently in the hospital with the coronavirus, levels not seen since the peak of the first outbreak in April.
Al Jazeera’s Assed Baig, reporting from London, said questions are being asked as to why the broader restrictions are not being applied immediately.
“Surely yes [people] mingle and socialize indoors on Christmas Day [in some tiers]This increases the risk of transmission of the infection, ”he said.
So why is the UK government waiting for the day after Christmas? Those are questions that are currently being asked of the UK government, and they haven’t really offered an answer. “
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