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British Health Minister Matt Hancock announced on Wednesday that a second variant of the coronavirus has been detected “even more contagious” than the one reported last week.
(Further: What is this about the new SARS-CoV-2 variant and what is known about it?)
This version of SARS-CoV-2, linked to people who have traveled to the UK from South Africa, is “very worrying” and appears to contain more mutations than the one that has started to spread rapidly in southern England.. With the emergence of this strain, the British Government will impose “immediate” restrictions on travel to South Africa and strict quarantines on people who have returned from that country in the last two weeks and their contacts.
This version of Sars-CoV-2, linked to people who have traveled to the UK from South Africa, is “very concerning” and appears to contain more mutations than the one that has begun to spread rapidly in southern England. With the emergence of this strain, the British Government will impose “immediate” restrictions on travel to South Africa and strict quarantines on people who have returned from that country in the last two weeks and their contacts.
Britain’s Health Secretary Matt Hancock who made the announcement.
(See: With 1.7 million doses of Pfizer vaccination begins in February)
The UK has so far identified two cases of the new strain on its territory, both in individuals close to people who had traveled in recent weeks. “We are incredibly grateful to the Government of South Africa for their scientific rigor and for the openness and transparency with which they have acted when the new variant was discovered here.“Hancock said at a news conference.
The minister announced at the same time that more areas of England will enter the maximum level of restrictions against the pandemic in the coming days, given the expansion in recent days of the strain that was reported last week, which apparently is transmitted to faster than previously known versions of the virus.
Following the detection of this variant, more than 50 countries have limited travel from the UK.
More than 50 countries limited travel from the UK for new variant
According to the latest official figures, infections in British territory have increased by 61.2% in the last seven days, compared to the previous seven. In England, there are already 17,709 admitted with covid, closer and closer to the 18,974 hospitalized at the peak of the first wave of the pandemic, on April 12.
“This Christmas and the start of 2021 is going to be a tough period. The new variant makes everything much more difficult because it spreads much faster. But we must not give up, we know that we can control this virus, “said the Minister of Health.
Hancock also reported that the British regulator has already received the necessary information to review the approval of the vaccine developed by the University of Oxford and the pharmaceutical company AstraZeneca. “The vaccine is our way out of all this. Despite how tough Christmas and winter are going to be, we know that the transformative power of science is helping us find a way,” he argued.
(Read also: When can you get vaccinated? Know the phases and who will have priority)
And the variant that was discovered last week?
According to Patrick Vallance, scientific adviser to the British Government, the viral variant that was announced a few days ago would have appeared in mid-September in London or in Kent, to the southeast. This would be responsible for the sharp increase in hospitalizations and deaths in the capital compared to the rest of England.
However, so far this variant has not been associated with greater clinical severity and thus it has not been shown to be more lethal. In fact, Chris Whitty, England’s chief physician, said that there is currently no indication that this new variant causes a higher case fatality rate, but work is underway urgently to confirm this.
HEALTH UNIT
