The UK announced a surprise shutdown Saturday in London and parts of the country amid a surge in coronavirus disease cases following the discovery of a new strain of the Sars-CoV-2 virus, which causes Covid-19. According to experts, the new strain is 70% more infectious than other strains of the virus. It is believed that the majority of new cases in the country are caused by this variant, and that up to 60% of cases in London are caused by it.
Here’s everything you need to know about the latest strain of coronavirus in the UK:
Why is the variant concerned?
There has been concern about the latest variant as it is rapidly replacing other versions of the virus and, according to experts, this would result in its spread more easily. Although, nothing can be said for sure, but as a precautionary measure, the country has been put in a new lockdown. “It’s too early to say … but from what we see so far it’s growing very fast, it’s growing faster than (an earlier variant) grew, but it’s important to keep an eye on this,” British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said during a press conference.
How new is the variant?
The variant is not new. In fact, it was first detected in September. In November, about a quarter of the cases in London were of the new variant. This reached almost two-thirds of the cases in mid-December, according to a BBC report. Jonathan Ball, a virologist at the University of Nottingham, said: “The amount of evidence in the public domain is woefully inadequate to draw strong or firm opinions on whether the virus has actually increased transmission.”
How far is the spread in the UK and the world?
The variant has been found throughout the United Kingdom except Northern Ireland, but is highly concentrated in London, the south-east, and the east of England. Cases in other parts of the country do not appear to have taken off. Data from Nextstrain, which has been monitoring the genetic codes of viral samples around the world, suggests that the cases in Denmark and Australia come from the UK. The Netherlands have also reported cases. A similar variant that has emerged in South Africa shares some of the same mutations, but appears to be unrelated to it.
Will it be the deadliest mutation?
There is no evidence to suggest the same, although this is being monitored. However, just increasing transmission would be enough to cause problems for hospitals. If the new variant means more people are getting infected more quickly, that, in turn, would lead to more people needing hospital treatment.
Will vaccines work against the new variant?
Almost certainly yes, or at least for now.
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