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Boris Johnson (Photo: REUTERS / Toby Melville / Pool)
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson said that the infectivity of the new strain of coronavirus, which has recently been found in various regions of the country, may be 70% higher than the previous one. He said this at a press conference, writes The Guardian.
According to England’s health director Chris Whitty, there is no evidence that the new strain is capable of causing a higher death rate or that a vaccine is invalid against it.
«We have notified the World Health Organization and we continue to analyze available data, ”he said, Reuters reports.
As of December 20 in London and in two counties in south-eastern England, where the majority of cases of infection with the new strain were found, the lockdown will be introduced.
On December 8, the UK began mass vaccination against coronavirus with vaccines produced by Pfizer and BioNTech. The first person in the world to receive the vaccine was Margaret Keenan, a 90-year-old resident of Northern Ireland.
On December 14, the country’s Ministry of Health announced that they had discovered a new strain of coronavirus in 60 regions of the country.
«This does not mean that it is more infectious or dangerous. It just means that you need to be vigilant. Great efforts are now being made to clarify the characteristics of this strain and understand its threat. It is important to remain calm and be rational about the virus strain because this is a normal evolution, ”said Minister Matthew Hancock.
According to Johns Hopkins University, 2,010,069 cases of coronavirus were detected in the UK as of December 19, 67,177 patients died.
