European countries are banning UK passengers from trying to contain a new mutation that is 70 per cent more infectious and pierces London.
Viruses change all the time. Seasonal flu moves every year, so it was not at all surprising to scientists that variants of COVID-19 have been detected since the pandemic began.
But in recent days, concerns have grown about a new strain identified in the UK.
Vaccines should continue to be effective against it, and the new strain is not thought to be more deadly, but people are increasingly concerned that this mutation appears to be 70% more infectious.
The new variant, which was named VUI-202012/01 (the first variant under investigation in December 2020), is believed to have appeared for the first time in mid-September in the south-east of the country, in the capital London or in Kent county.
Susan Hopkins of Public Health England said the agency notified the government on December 18 when the modeling revealed the full seriousness of the new strain. The United Kingdom presented its findings to the World Health Organization on the same day.
It has since spread rapidly to the southeast, becoming the dominant form of the virus there.
In London, 62 per cent of cases were due to the new variant in the week of December 9th. This compares to 28 percent three weeks earlier.
Faced with this rapid development, the British government has decided to apply stricter measures in the coming Christmas period.
Earlier, British Prime Minister Boris Johnson had pledged to allow people to meet for the festivities. But amid growing criticism and the advice of his scientific advisers, many Britons are now banned from mixing households until at least the end of December, when the new measures will be reviewed.
Patrick Vallance, the UK’s chief scientific adviser, said the new variant could be in other countries as well, but could also start in the UK.
The Netherlands and Belgium reacted quickly, banning travel from the UK in an attempt to stop the spread of the new strain.
Dutch authorities said they had found at least one case of the new strain and that flights carrying passengers from the UK had been banned until 1 January. Belgium is suspending flight and train arrivals from the UK for at least 24 hours, according to Prime Minister Alexander De Croo, who spoke to Belgian television station VRT.
According to UL chief physician Chris Whitty, current buffer tests are able to identify the new variant.
Scientists say the new strain contains 23 changes, many associated with changes in a protein produced by the virus.
The British Minister of Health, Matt Hancock, suggested that the new blocking measures could remain in force for a while.
Given how quickly this new variant is spreading, it will be very difficult to keep it under control until we launch the vaccine, Hancock said.
Scottish Prime Minister Nicola Sturgeon said on Twitter that mutant strain cases were lower in Scotland “than the rest of the UK”, but warned, “preventive action may be needed to stop the faster-spreading strain” .
Up to 67,000 people have died of COVID-19 in the UK so far, making it one of the worst affected in Europe along with Italy.