Dozens of countries have banned travel from the UK in a new Covid-19 reversal attempt first reported in England.
In a statement Saturday, Japan’s foreign ministry said the country will ban foreign nationals from entering the country beginning Monday through late January after several cases of Covid-19 discrepancy were recorded in the country.
The new trend will be called VUI-202012/01 – the first “Variant Under Investigation” in the UK in December 2020. As scientists hunt for more information on the variant, it is felt that impact already, with dozens of countries imposing restrictions on UK travelers.
Here’s what we know so far about the Covid-19 variant:
What is a variable and why are officials worried about this one? Variation occurs when the genetic structure of a virus changes. All viruses move over time and new mutations are common, including the novel coronavirus.
Like other variants, this one has genetic fingerprints that make it easy to find, and it seems to be now widespread in the southeast of England. That alone does not mean that variability is more contagious or dangerous.
But scientists advising the UK government have estimated that this variant could be up to 70% more effective at dispersing than others. Peter Horby, chairman of the New and Emerging Respiratory Virus Risk Advisory Group (NERVTAG), said Monday that experts have high confidence “now that this difference has a spreading advantage” over other changes.
The World Health Organization said Tuesday that the changes to the variant include 14 major mutations, some of which could “affect the transmission of the virus in humans,” although he added that further laboratory studies were needed.
Where did the change come from and how has it caught on? The new variant is expected to have arrived in the south-east of England, according to the WHO. Public Health England (PHE) says a retrospective, using genetic evidence, indicates that the variant first appeared in England in September. It then circulated at very low levels until mid-November.
Chris Whitty, England’s chief medical officer, said on Saturday that the variability was due to 60% of new diseases in London, which has almost doubled in the last week alone.
Multiple experts have also suggested that this new variant may have been exacerbated by a mass-scattering event, meaning that the current spike in cases could be caused by human behavior.
Is the new variant more lethal? There is no evidence so far to suggest that the new variant is more lethal, according to Whitty and the WHO, although it is too early to tell.
Several experts have noted that, in some cases, virus mutations that increase motility are accompanied by a decrease in virus and mortality rates.
“As viruses are extracted, those that allow virological ‘success’ can be selected, which will change the characteristics of the virus over time. This usually leads to more transmission. and less virus, “Martin Hibberd, a professor of infectious disease appearing at the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, told the SMC.
Learn more about the UK coronavirus variant here.