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South Africa has identified a “new variant” of the coronavirus causing the second wave of infections, the Health Minister said on Friday, days after Britain said it had found a new variant of the virus, according to Mediafax.
“We have convened this public briefing to announce that South African scientists have identified a variant of the SARS-VOC-2 virus, currently called variant 501.V2,” Health Minister Zweli Mkhize wrote on Twitter.
“Therefore, the evidence that has been collected suggests that the second wave that we are experiencing is driven by this new variant,” Mkhize added.
South Africa is approaching 900,000 infections, with more than 20,000 associated deaths. A further increase in cases has tightened government restrictions.
The World Health Organization (WHO) said on Friday it was in contact with South African researchers who had identified the new variant.
A few days ago, British authorities announced that a “new variant” of the coronavirus had been identified and was believed to cause a more rapid spread in the southeast of the country. Secretary of State for Health Matt Hancock said more than 1,000 cases of the new variant had been found, “predominantly in southern England.”
Publisher: Liviu Cojan
