Mutation of the coronavirus leads 40 countries to restrict the entry of passengers in the United Kingdom | National newspaper

Governments around the world have closed borders to the UK. The measure is to stop the entry of one of the mutations of the new coronavirus.

But the British health agency notified the variant in September and notified the WHO. This version was called the lineage B.1.1.7. and has suffered at least 23 mutations. The main one changed the shape of the spine of the new coronavirus. It is the protein you use to open the cell door. But there is still no certainty that the key has become more efficient.

The British government explained that it has “moderate confidence” that the mutation has made the virus up to 70% more contagious, but there is still the possibility that people’s behavior has made life easier for the virus. Health has known for months that this variation of the new coronavirus has been gaining momentum in London.

In November, it accounted for one in four new cases in the capital. Now in December, there are two out of three.

The British scientific council believes that the variation may have appeared there or elsewhere. The Nextstrain project, which monitors viral samples around the world, confirmed cases of this version in Australia, Denmark and the Netherlands. The French government believes that the variation of the new coronavirus would already be in the country.

Miles of trucks are trapped between the UK and France. The Transport Minister assured that the Pfizer and BioNTech bottles will continue to arrive from Belgium.

The British government said that everything indicates that the vaccine works against this version.

The emergency specialist at the World Health Organization agrees. Mike Ryan said Monday that there is no evidence that one variant is more serious than another.

Julian Tang, a virologist at the University of Leicester, explains that every virus changes a lot: that of Wuhan, China, has already suffered more than a thousand mutations. He says that serial mutations would be necessary for the vaccine not to work. The new coronavirus is recent and stable compared to the common flu virus, for example.

The mutation usually occurs in an infected person for weeks. The virus gains more time to evolve. Some mutations disappear; others are better suited.

The version that appeared in Europe in February has become the most dominant form of the virus in the world. Another contagion in Spain during the summer holidays.

Some variants are not as contagious, but they spread easily without masks or distance. They are in the right place at the right time for the bad luck of the population.