December 14, the United Kingdom confirmed the discovery of a new variant of the novel coronavirus, and reported that the variant was first discovered in September and spread rapidly within three months.
The impact of this mutant novel coronavirus has affected many countries. So far, in addition to the United Kingdom, Australia, Denmark, Italy, Iceland, the Netherlands and other countries that have previously announced the cases, more than 10 countries and regions have reported the detection of mutant COVID-19 cases.
On the 24th local time, the African Centers for Disease Control and Prevention also said that Nigeria may have a different variant of the novel coronavirus reported by the United Kingdom and South Africa.
At present, many countries have announced restrictions to deal with the entry of mutant viruses.
Switzerland, Mexico, Germany, Italy and other countries have accelerated the launch of vaccination efforts to curb the spread of the epidemic.
On the 24th local time, the Ministry of Health of Baden-Württemberg in southwest Germany issued a statement saying that the state confirmed the first case of mutant coronavirus reported in Germany on the same day.
The confirmed patient is a woman who returned to Bevere from the United Kingdom via Frankfurt Airport on December 20. She is currently in home quarantine, and three of her close contacts have been quarantined.
A spokesman for the Ministry of Health of Baden-Württemberg said that three close contacts currently showed no symptoms and their test samples were being sent for examination.
On the 22nd, the German federal government announced that passengers from the United Kingdom and South Africa will be banned from traveling to Germany by air, rail, ship and bus from now until January 6, 2021.
On the 23rd local time, Israel’s Ministry of Health announced that four people had been found to be infected with the mutant coronavirus reported by the United Kingdom.
Three of them were diagnosed after returning from the United Kingdom. The source of infection of the fourth case is still under investigation.
Israel tightened its entry restrictions this week, has now banned foreign citizens traveling from the United Kingdom, Denmark and South Africa, and requires all returning Israelis to be quarantined for 10 to 14 days.
The Irish health department said on the 23rd that from last week’s sample data, the mutant coronavirus spreading in the UK has existed in Ireland since at least the second week of this month.
In response to the growing epidemic, from midnight on the 24th to January 12 next year, Ireland will re-implement the highest level of prevention and control of the COVID-19 epidemic nationwide – level 5 prevention and control.
The Ministry of Health of Singapore announced on the evening of the 23rd that the mutant novel coronavirus reported by the United Kingdom has been transmitted to Singapore.
The confirmed patient is a female student who returned from the UK earlier this month. In addition to this patient, the preliminary test of 11 imported cases in Europe showed that the mutant strain was, and the Ministry of Health was waiting for the results of subsequent tests.
Regarding the mutant COVID-19, the South African Ministry of Health pointed out that the second wave of the epidemic is spreading “exponentially” and developing faster than the first wave, so the government is considering introducing stricter restrictions.
In recent years, another variant of COVID-19 has been discovered in the United Kingdom.
The two cases of new mutant infection, which are “very worrisome” because it is more transmittable and seems to be more mutant than the former mutant virus, is being analyzed in depth, according to the UK Health Secretary Matthew Hancock.
According to previous reports, the mutant novel coronavirus reported in the United Kingdom was first discovered in September this year, and its reproductive rate has increased by more than 0.4, 70% more than the transmission capacity of the old virus.
South Africa reported a mutant virus that is more infectious than the United Kingdom, more destructive to young people, and vulnerable to healthy people. Specific infection data are still under study.
South Africa reported more individual variants of the virus, meaning that patients who have recovered from infection may reinfect and may be more resistant to vaccines.
In terms of transmission routes, the mutant novel coronavirus reported by the United Kingdom first spreads around London in China, then spreads the whole country.
Now it has spread to Denmark, the Netherlands, Belgium, Italy, Australia, Israel, Ireland, Singapore and other places. South Africa was first discovered from the coastal areas and has now been transferred inland. Moved to the outside world, it has been transferred to Britain and other places.
Affected by the new mutant virus, more than 50 countries and regions around the world have taken restrictions on the entry of the United Kingdom to respond to the mutant virus.
At the same time, in addition to the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Saudi Arabia, Sudan, Switzerland, El Salvador, Turkey, Israel, the Netherlands and Mauritius have now suspended. Flights to and from South Africa.
Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin also said at a regular press conference on the 24th that many countries announced that they would take measures to close the border, ground round-trip flights, and prohibit British flights from entering the UK.
Considering the particularity and possible impact of the mutant virus, China has fully assessed in order to ensure the healthy exchange of Chinese and foreign personnel. Refer to the multinational practice and suspend round-trip flights between China and Britain.
