Lockdowns may actually prevent a natural weakening of this disease
Tough restrictions keep the virus spreading mainly among the very ill, meaning more lethal strains can dominate milder ones
Lockdowns have had a devastating impact on the economy
Credit: PA
Boris Johnson s fondness for the metaphor of the US cavalry riding to the rescue is risky: ask General Custer. With the vaccine cavalry in sight, and just when we thought we had earned a Christmas break, the virus has ambushed us with a strain that seems more contagious, and which is rapidly coming to dominate the epidemic in south-east England.
What we know about the new strain of coronavirus found in Britain Toggle share menu
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What we know about the new strain of coronavirus found in Britain
A transmission electron micrograph of SARS-CoV-2 virus particles, isolated from a patient, captured and colour-enhanced. (Photo: AFP)
22 Dec 2020 04:03PM) Share this content
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SINGAPORE: Over the weekend, Britain reported a new variant of the coronavirus that Prime Minister Boris Johnson said could be “up to 70 per cent more transmissible”.
British Health Secretary Matt Hancock has described the strain as being “out of control”, with the country imposing a strict Christmas lockdown to slow its spread.
Covid 19 coronavirus: Scientists alarmed at spread of Covid mutant
20 Dec, 2020 06:28 PM
4 minutes to read
Financial Times
By: Clive Cookson
New strain of virus is 70 per cent more transmissible but seemingly no more deadly after its detection in UK and elsewhere. The highly infectious variant of coronavirus that has emerged in south-east England is spreading rapidly to the rest of the UK and is already present elsewhere in the world, scientists warned on Sunday.
The World Health Organisation said its Evolution Working Group is working closely with the UK medical authorities to understand how the variant, now called B.1.1.7, is likely to affect the course of the pandemic. It has been detected in the Netherlands, Denmark and Australia.