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The South African mutation is behind a growing number of infected, hospitalized and dead, AP writes.
The variant is called 501. V2.
The Netherlands, Germany and Turkey have stopped flights from South Africa due to the new mutation, writes The Guardian. So it is not the same mutation that drives the infection in the UK, and which British researchers believe is 70 per cent more contagious than previous viruses.
– It is still in a very early stage, but preliminary data suggests that the virus now dominating the second wave is spreading faster than the first, says epidemiologist Salim Abdool Karim, a government adviser, at a press conference.
“Many more cases”
In addition, he warned that the new mutation runs the risk of causing “many more cases” than the country saw during the first wave.
More than 8,500 covid patients are now being treated in hospitals in South Africa, the highest number ever recorded in the country. The most recent spike occurred in August, when 8,300 covid patients received hospital care.
– We see a much earlier and sharper rise in the second wave than we expected, Professor Ian Sanne, also part of the government advisory committee, tells South Africa’s News24.
