THERE have been no new cases of the more contagious South African variant of the coronavirus found in either Scarborough or North Yorkshire, it has been revealed. Last week, two people tested positive for the new variant in Scarborough after returning from international travel but health chiefs have confirmed that it appears not to have spread to the community. The South African variant contains a mutation which is believed to make the virus more contagious than previous variants and also has other mutations which lead to fears that it could reduce the effectiveness of existing vaccines, though it has since been found that the vaccines do still prevent serious illness as a result of the virus.
Two cases of the more contagious South African variant of the coronavirus have been found in Scarborough. The cases are described as “isolated” and have been linked to international travel with no threat to the local community found at this time. As the cases are not linked to community transmission there will be no “surge testing” in the borough, like has been seen on eight postcodes this week where the variant was found. The South African variant contains a mutation which is believed to make the virus more contagious than previous variants and also has other mutations which has lead to fears that it could reduce the effectiveness of existing vaccines.