A new variant of the corona virus novel has been identified in the UK, which may be partly linked to the rapid increase in infections, as the government keeps London and its environs under the country’s highest COVID-19 controls, the government has said.
While there is currently no indication that the new strain could cause more serious illness or not respond to the vaccine, Health Secretary Matt Hancock said on Monday it could contribute to higher infection rates.
“Last week, we saw a sharp, rapid rise in the virus across parts of London, Kent, Essex and Hertfordshire,” he told the House of Commons, referring to districts near the capital.
“We do not know to what extent this is due to the new variation, but whatever the reason, we need to take immediate and decisive action,” he said, adding that the entire capital and some neighborhoods are “layered” from Wednesday 3 “restrictions.
More than 1,000 infections have been diagnosed with the new variant.
Michael Ryan, emergency head of the World Health Organization (WHO), said the World Health Organization was aware of the new strain reported in the UK and was working with British and other health officials. The virus behaves.
“Evolution and mutations like this are very common,” Ryan told reporters Monday, adding that “there is” no information “that this virus variant is very dangerous or spreads easily among people.”
Viruses such as SARS-COV-2 cause COVID-19 to continue to mutate as they spread among the population and scientists, with most mutations claiming to have little effect on human disease.
Maria van Kerkov, WHO’s technology leader at COVID – 19, said “there is no evidence that this variation behaves differently” and that it is similar to a variation initially announced in Europe.
Scientists will further study the new variant, looking to see if there is any difference in how it triggered the immune response among people.
Virus hotspots
The UK and health workers over the age of 80 began being vaccinated with the Pfizer-Bioentech vaccine on December 8, and its regulators are evaluating other vaccines developed by AstraZeneca and Oxford University.
Thousands have been vaccinated so far, but they have to return for a second shot in 21 days.
The National Health Service said hundreds of medical clinics across the UK were distributing the vaccine on Monday and that the footage would be available by Tuesday.
On Sunday, Italy surpassed the UK to become the country with the highest number of corona virus deaths in Europe, but both have more than 64,000 deaths each, according to Johns Hopkins University. Experts say that due to limited testing and missed cases, those heights are still calculating the impact of the virus. To date, the UK has confirmed nearly 1.9 million corona virus infections.
London is currently in Tier 2, which applies to most parts of the UK.
In November, the capital was one of the lowest regional epidemic rates in the UK, but some areas around London have now become viral hotspots.
Under Tier 3 restrictions, the UK’s three-tier structure is difficult for people to get around indoors and bars, pubs and restaurants have to close without leaving.
People are being told to stay within that area or reduce travel, and Hancock said people should not travel to central London to do Christmas shopping.
Local authorities in some London metropolitan areas have already advised schools to close and move on to online learning as cases of the corona virus increase.
On Sunday, officials in Greenwich, south-east London, said the metropolis was experiencing “rapid growth” and infection rates had been at their highest level since March.
London Mayor Sadiq Khan has called on the Conservative government to close all high schools and colleges in London before Christmas because there has been an explosion among students between the ages of 10 and 19.