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A new coronavirus strain surging to dominance in the UK appears to spread faster despite lockdowns, prompting panic and a wave of border closures
A new coronavirus strain surging to dominance in the UK appears to spread faster despite lockdowns, prompting panic and a wave of border closures
Sinéad BakerDec 22, 2020, 00:31 IST
A sign on England’s M56 motorway informs drivers that all routes into France are closed on December 21, 2020.PAUL ELLIS/AFP via Getty Images
The
coronavirus strain that appears to infect people more easily.
Multiple countries also moved quickly to block travel from the UK, expressing concern over the new strain.
Patrick Vallance, the British government s chief scientific adviser, said that the strain moves fast and is becoming the dominant variant, causing over 60% of infections in London by December.
The strain is also concerning because it has so many mutations nearly two dozen and some are on the spiky protein that the virus uses to attach to and infect cells. That spike is what current vaccines target. I m worried about this, for sure, but it s too soon to know how important it ultimately will prove to be, said Dr. Ravi Gupta, who studies viruses at the University of Cambridge in England. He and other researchers posted a report of it on a website scientists use to quickly share developments, but the paper has not been formally reviewed or published in a journal.
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PAUL ELLIS/AFP via Getty Images
The UK government imposed harsher restrictions on millions of people this weekend, warning of a mutated coronavirus strain that appears to infect people more easily.
Multiple countries also moved quickly to block travel from the UK, expressing concern over the new strain.
The government said the new strain could increase the country s R number by 0.4 and suggested that the strain was behind 59% of new cases in eastern England and 62% of new cases in London.
Experts say the situation is worrying and needs to be closely monitored, but they added that this strain didn t appear to be deadlier.
Synopsis
Viruses naturally evolve as they move through the population, some more than others. It s one reason we need a fresh flu shot each year. New variants, or strains, of the virus that causes COVID-19 have been seen almost since it was first detected in China nearly a year ago.
Agencies
Viruses often acquire small changes of a letter or two in their genetic alphabet just through normal evolution.
Reports from Britain and South Africa of new coronavirus strains that seem to spread more easily are causing alarm, but virus experts say it s unclear if that s the case or whether they pose any concern for vaccines or cause more severe disease.