MUTANT SPREAD
Two cases of South Africa Covid strain in the UK are likely ‘the tip of the iceberg’ and restrictions ‘may be too late’
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24 Dec 2020, 17:39
Updated: 25 Dec 2020, 0:57
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THE two cases of a new Covid strain from South Africa detected in the UK are probably just the “tip of the iceberg”, experts say.
And they fear banning flights from South Africa, and strict quarantining of recent arrivals, may be “too late” to stop the spread of the new variant in the UK.
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THE two cases of the coronavirus strain from South Africa detected in the UK are probably the “tip of the iceberg”Credit: AFP or licensors
CCP Virus Variant in UK Spreads Over 50 Percent Faster: Study
The new strain of the CCP virus that emerged in the UK spreads over 50 percent faster and could make up nine out of 10 cases in the southeast of England by mid-January, according to a preliminary study.
The study (pdf), by the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, used mathematical modeling to project the spread of the new strain in the southeast quarter of the country where it is already beginning to dominate.
“We estimate the transmission rate of this variant is 50-74 percent higher than existing variants,” said study author Dr. Nick Davies.
December 23, 2020 expert reaction to South African variant of SARS-CoV-2, as mentioned by Matt Hancock at the Downing Street press briefing
Matt Hancock announced that two people in the UK who had returned from South Africa had a variant of SARS-CoV-2 from South Africa.
Dr Julian Tang, Honorary Associate Professor/Clinical Virologist, University of Leicester, said:
“The expansion of Tier 4 is a natural response to attempt to ring-fence the new UK B.1.1.7 (variant) virus that is spreading across South/Southeast England.
“A new virus variant ‘501.V2’ from South Africa has been identified in some COVID-19 cases in the UK recently. This new South African variant is described in this presentation: https://www.scribd.com/document/488618010/Full-Presentation-by-SSAK-18-Dec, which cites a paper in Cell (Tyler N et al. 2020).
What are the new South Africa Covid strain symptoms and is the variant already in the UK? thesun.co.uk - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from thesun.co.uk Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.