A new “worrying” variant of a suspected coronavirus has been found to cause an increase in cases in South Africa in the UK, Matt Hancock said.
A vigilance by Public Health England on Tuesday identified two people who contracted the virus after being in contact with separate South African travelers. One case is in London, and the other is in the north-west.
The Health secretary told a Downing Street news release on Wednesday that new quarantine rules would come from recent visitors from South Africa when the new variant comes.
“This new variant is very worrying as it is still more mobile and appears to have moved further than the new variant found in the UK,” Hancock said.
It will put more pressure on ministers who are already struggling with another strain of the transmissible virus, which was first discovered in Kent in late September. Coronavirus cases have gone up in London, the southeast and the east, where the variant now makes up the majority of diseases.
corona cases uk
Ravi Gupta, a professor of clinical microbiology at the University of Cambridge, who has called for the vaccination program to be accelerated and focused on hotspots to accommodate the more mobile variant, said the South Africa changed a new crisis to the situation.
“This is really terrible news,” he said. “We need to increase vaccinations and think about where we should be focusing.”
Although the UK and South Africa differences are different, they share at least one mutation called N501Y that could make the virus more transmissible.
Hancock said the pair who tested positive for the South African variant were now in quarantine, adding that other country travelers and their associates must take the same warning.
“Anyone in the UK who has been to South Africa in the last fortnight and anyone who is in close contact with someone who has been to South Africa in the last fortnight quarantine immediately, “he said.” They must suspend all communication with anyone else. “
The steps will be temporary while the new variable is examined at the PHE laboratory in Porton Down. Work is already underway at the laboratory to study the UK variant, known as B117.
The UK variant emerged when PHE analysis revealed that a new multimutant form of the virus was spreading rapidly in Kent and other regions at the time of the November lockout, while the old mutations of coronavirus were decline.
The South African variant emerged after the first wave of disease in Nelson Mandela Bay on the coast of the Cape East Region. Within weeks, it had become a major coronavirus in Eastern and Western Capes.
Dr Richard Lessells, an infectious disease expert who studied the South African variety at the University of KwaZulu-Natal in Durban, said there was not enough evidence so far to determine if it is more mobile than the current fear RA. “We have good evidence that it is more flexible than previous versions, but it is difficult for us to measure accurately,” he said.
Stuart Neil, who is a professor of virology at King’s College London, said that while there was little information about the new changes, it was important to be careful.
“We are still awaiting definitive confirmation that there is something in the mutations that have emerged in these variables that is actually giving them the benefit of sexual transmission,” he said. “But I think that we must err with caution and act as if these new variables would have better transmission characteristics.
“Ultimately, we are a small country. Everyone who enters level 4 is going to be inevitable. The new variable is in the UK across the country … and if it’s more mobile, it’ll take over. ”
Dr Stephen Griffin, associate professor at Leeds University School of Medicine, said: “It is clear that major changes with greater distribution capacity are a major concern at the moment. However, the crisis in the UK has been growing since the summer and we are now in this dire situation due to delays and inaction since things started to escalate.
“It is good that action is now being taken to prevent the spread of the new variant, but this cannot be used to distract from the mismanagement of the epilepsy since the first lock came out. The cost of failing to eradicate disease and establishing effective testing and detection over summer is now counted both in people’s lives and by the economy. “
Dr Susan Hopkins, chief medical consultant on Covid-19, tested and discovered by PHE and the NHS: “We are investigating this new version of SARS-CoV-2 which originated in South Africa. Viruses often develop and this is not uncommon. We are making work a priority to understand the potential danger of this variation. It is important to note that there is currently no evidence that this variant causes a more serious illness, or that the regulated vaccine would not protect against it.
“The best way to prevent infection is to follow the rules – reduce your ties, wash our hands, wear a face mask, keep our distance from others and ventilate indoor spaces.”