December 26 According to Singapore’s Lianhe Zaobao, another variant of the virus was also found in the United Kingdom, following the new variant of the coronavirus virus found earlier in southeastern England.
The virus was discovered earlier in South Africa. It is reported that because the mutant virus found in South Africa is more transmitted than the variant virus that appeared in the United Kingdom before,
United Kingdom has restricted the entry of tourists from South Africa, and has raised the epidemic prevention and control level in more domestic areas to the highest level of fourth.
British Health Secretary Hancock said at a press conference on the epidemic on December 23 local time that two confirmed cases related to another variant of the virus have been found in the United Kingdom.
Two infected people are from London and northwest England.
They have had contact with people who have returned from South Africa in recent weeks. The two patients have been quarantined from their close contacts, and those who have been to South Africa in the past two weeks and their close contacts must also be quarantined immediately.
The British government also banned the entry of passengers who had been to South Africa for 10 days from Thursday and suspended direct flights between the two countries.
British and Irish citizens, visa holders and permanent residents are still allowed to enter, but they must be quarantined from their families for 10 days.
The discovery of another mutant virus is attributed to gene sequencing in South Africa.
“This new variant is very concerning because it is more transmittable and seems to be more variant than the strain of the mutant virus found in the UK,” Hancock said.
Hancock also pointed out that the UK’s ability to find these two cases is due to South Africa’s excellent virus gene sequencing ability.
South Africa’s Ministry of Health reported last week that a new coronavirus disease virus has been found in the country, which may be the reason for the recent surge in cases in the country.
Local scientists point out that the new strain has become the mainstream strain of the virus in parts of South Africa.
Meanwhile, Israel’s health ministry announced Wednesday that four cases have been found in connection with variant strains of the virus that emerged in the UK, with three recently returned from the UK, and a fourth case still under investigation.
Irish health officials also believe that the mutant virus has been introduced into the country.
Hopkins, a medical consultant to the Public Health Service of England, pointed out that the mutant strains of the virus found in South Africa and the United Kingdom are very different. The mutations of the two are not the same, but both seem to be more likely to spread.
Preliminary studies show that the transmission power of mutant viruses in Britain is 70% higher than that of the original strains. Scientists are still learning about the mutant viruses found in South Africa, but data show that it spreads faster.
On December 8, the United Kingdom began to be vaccinated against the novel coronavirus.
Priority will be given to nursing home personnel, people over 80 years old, and front-line medical and social workers, before providing vaccination services to other groups.
At that time, the order of vaccination will be determined according to age and infection risk.
Expert: I believe that existing vaccines are effective against mutant viruses.
Nevertheless, Hopkins expressed confidence that the mutant virus could be controlled. She also said that the existing coronavirus vaccine is believed to be effective for mutant strains.
The United Kingdom previously reported 39,237 new confirmed cases, the highest in a single day since the outbreak of the novel coronavirus; 744 new deaths on that day, the highest since the end of April.
The number of new confirmed cases of COVID-19 in the UK in the past week has increased by 57% compared with the previous week.
Due to the continuous surge in cases, the epidemic prevention and control level in Sussex, Oxfordshire, Suffolk, Norfolk, Cambridgeshire and other places in England will be upgraded to level 4 from local time on the 26th.
Previously, only the capital London and southeastern England were listed as fourth-level. All non-essential stores in the fourth level must be closed and social restrictions are stricter.
Variant to the origin of the novel coronavirus, Britain and South Africa quarreled!
Since the discovery of the mutant novel coronavirus, South Africa has been hit by the epidemic again, and the number of new confirmed cases has increased exponentially.
On the 24th, 14,305 new confirmed cases of COVID-19 in South Africa exceeded 14,046 on Wednesday, breaking the record of new confirmed cases in South Africa after the outbreak of COVID-19 in March for two consecutive days. On the 1st of this month, only 2,295 new confirmed cases were reported in South Africa.
According to Reuters on the 25th, South Africa’s Health Minister Mukez said that the second wave of COVID-19 spread faster than the first wave, and the number of confirmed cases is increasing exponentially, which is likely to be caused by the mutant novel coronavirus.
“We urge all South Africans to comply with regulations and recommendations related to the state of national disaster, avoid large gatherings and crowded environments, ensure adequate ventilation in places where people gather, and to be vigilant and comply with interventions,” he said.
At present, South Africa still maintains the first-level blockade (up to the fifth level), and the South African Ministry of Health said on the 24th that it would re-examine and adjust the epidemic prevention measures. As of the 25th, 14 countries or regions have suspended flights to and from South Africa.
The United Kingdom and South Africa have discovered mutant COVID-19, but the health departments of the two countries have fought a verbal battle over the infectivity and origin of the virus.
According to a report by “South African” news network on the 25th, Mukez issued a statement on the 24th to refute the accusations of British Health Secretary Hancock.
Mukez said in a statement: “Hancock recently said that the cases of mutant virus infection in the United Kingdom are all related to South African visitors, implying that the mutant viruses found in South Africa play a major role in the second wave of the British epidemic, which is incorrect.
There is evidence that the UK virus variant was discovered earlier, dating back to September 20 this year, about a month earlier than the South African variant. In addition, the statement pointed out that there is no evidence that South African variants are more infectious or cause higher mortality than British variants. Whether the existing vaccine can resist these virus variants still needs to be studied.
According to the website of the Chinese Embassy in South Africa on the 25th, the number of COVID-19 cases among Chinese citizens in South Africa has recently shown a rapid rise, resulting in two new deaths.
There was a cluster infection in Johannesburg’s Chinatown, and many people have been diagnosed.
