Image by Miroslava Chrienova from Pixabay The Network for Genomics Surveillance in South Africa (NGS-SA) reports detecting a new lineage, which is a group of mutated viruses, of SARS-CoV-2 in the Eastern Cape, Western Cape and KwaZulu-Natal Provinces. This lineage possesses between 10-20 mutations that were not previously seen in viruses from South Africa prior to September 2020. This week, Public Health England (PHE) reported two cases of a new SARS-CoV-2 variant, which originated in South Africa. The 2 cases were identified in the UK on 22 December 2020 and both have been in contact with someone who has travelled from South Africa. The new variant named B1.351 (also referred to as 501Y.V2) was first detected in Nelson Mandela Bay, South Africa, in samples at the beginning of October. Molecular dating suggests that it could have been in circulation from the end of August.