More transmissible than other strains, new coronavirus variant may require stricter lockdowns / REUTERS
Viruses are the fashionistas of the microbe world. They change their appearance constantly but such changes are usually small, transient and of little practical significance for how they spread or how deadly they are.
SARS-CoV-2, the COVID-19 virus, has so far been no exception, according to The Economist.
But a new variant of it that is spreading rapidly in Britain appears to buck the trend. According to researchers advising the British government, it may be 40-70% more transmissible than the other variants in circulation. Britain has alerted the World Health Organisation about this variant, provisionally called VUI 202012/01 (short for the first variant under investigation in December 2020).
More transmissible than other strains, it may require stricter lockdowns
Viruses the fashionistas of the microbe world. They change their appearance constantly but such changes are usually small, transient and of little practical significance for how they spread or how deadly they are. SARS-CoV-2, the covid-19 virus, has so far been no exception. But a new variant of it that is spreading rapidly in Britain appears to buck the trend. According to researchers advising the British government, it may be 40-70 per cent more transmissible than the other variants in circulation. Britain has alerted the World Health Organisation about this variant, provisionally called VUI 202012/01 (short for the first “variant under investigation” in December 2020).
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VIRUSES ARE the fashionistas of the microbe world. They change their appearance constantly but such changes are usually small, transient and of little practical significance for how they spread or how deadly they are. SARS-CoV-2, the covid-19 virus, has so far been no exception. But a new variant of it that is spreading rapidly in Britain appears to buck the trend. According to researchers advising the British government, it may be 40-70% more transmissible than the other variants in circulation. Britain has alerted the World Health Organisation about this variant, provisionally called VUI 202012/01 (short for the first “variant under investigation” in December 2020).