2020-12-22 21:35:48 GMT2020-12-23 05:35:48(Beijing Time) Xinhua English
A woman walks past the closed Les Deux Magots cafe in Paris, France, Dec. 16, 2020.(Xinhua/Gao Jing)
GENEVA/BRUSSELS, Dec. 22 (Xinhua) Several European countries and Australia have detected a new, faster spreading and potentially more contagious strain of COVID-19 in recent days and have or are about to roll out stricter control measures.
The new mutation, referred to in the United Kingdom (UK) where it was first detected in October 2020 as SARS-CoV-2 VUI-202012/01, is still under investigation and has set off alarms, with UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson announcing new Tier Four (toughest) restrictions for London, the southeast and east of England, which require residents in those areas to stay at home, with limited exemptions. People are also urged to work from home when they can and are banned from entering or leaving Tier Four areas.
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Vivek Mutant COVID-19 strain in UK doesn t appear to be deadlier
Indian-American Vivek Murthy, US President-elect Joe Biden’s nominee for Surgeon General, has said that the
| 22 Dec 2020 5:03 AM GMT
WASHINGTON: Indian-American Vivek Murthy, US President-elect Joe Biden s nominee for Surgeon General, has said that the highly infectious new mutant COVID-19 strain discovered in Britain, does not appear to be any deadlier. While it seems to be more transmissible, we do not have evidence yet that this is a more deadly virus to an individual who acquires it, The Hill news website quoted Murthu as saying on NBC News on Sunday.
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The new strain of COVID-19 discovered in the UK, which is said to be 70 percent more transmissible, is not “out of control” yet and can be controlled using existing measures, the World Health Organisation said on Monday, 21 December, according to AFP. We have had a much higher (contamination rate) at different points in this pandemic and we ve got it under control, WHO s emergencies chief Michael Ryan said, addressing a press conference.
However, he warned that it should not be left unattended.
“So this situation is not in that sense out of control. But it cannot be left to its own devices.”Michael Ryan
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