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Two cases of a new “more transmissible” COVID-19 variant linked to South Africa have been identified in the UK, the Health Secretary said.
Both cases are contacts of people who traveled from South Africa in recent weeks, Matt Hancock told a news conference in Downing Street.
Those with the new variant, and their contacts, are in quarantine.
The South African strain is believed to be behind a record number of people hospitalized in the country with COVID-19.
Dr Susan Hopkins of Public Health England said the new variant recently discovered in the UK, and the one found in South Africa, are “very different” and are “different mutations”.
“They both seem to be more transmittable,” he added.
Dr Hopkins said at the Issue 10 press conference: “We have more evidence on the transmission of the UK variant, because we have been studying it in great detail with academic partners.
“We are still learning about the South African variant. We are pretty confident that the system we have will help control the spread.”
Regarding inoculation, Dr. Hopkins said the vaccine produces a “strong immune response and is broad and works against many variations in the virus,” adding that “there is no evidence at the moment that the vaccine does not work.” .
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How contagious is the new variant?
Mr Hancock said: “This new variant is very concerning because it is even more transmissible and appears to have mutated more than the new variant that has been discovered in the UK.”
The new strain “will be analyzed soon at Porton Down,” added the Secretary of Health.
There are immediate restrictions on travel from South Africa.
Furthermore, people who have been in contact with anyone who has been to South Africa in the last fortnight have been told that they must self-quarantine.
Hancock said the ministers are “incredibly grateful to the South African government for the rigor of its science and the openness and transparency with which they have acted correctly as we did when we discovered a new variant here.”
Analysis: South African variant ‘appears to have higher viral load’
Thomas Moore, Science Correspondent
The new South African strain of the virus is a major concern and the government has moved quickly to shut it down.
The country’s health authorities believe that the 501.V2 variant is more common in younger adults.
It also appears to have a higher viral load and, as a result, is more easily transmitted from person to person.
It is believed that it could partly explain the recent increase in infections in South Africa.
Genetic analysis shows that it shares some of the new strain’s mutations that are already widespread in the UK, but the two viruses have evolved separately.
The health secretary has ordered anyone who has been to South Africa, or has been in contact with someone who has, in the past two weeks, to isolate themselves immediately.
Once again rapid strain genetic testing in the UK has detected a mutant virus at an early stage, but has it been early enough?
