South African scientists have identified a new version of the coronavirus this week that they say is behind a recent spike in COVID-19 infections in Gauteng, the country’s most populous province.
Dr. Jen Ashton gives us tips on how to lower the risk of COVID-19 while indoors during holiday gatherings.South African scientists have identified a new version of thethis week that they say is behind a recent spike in COVID-19 infections in Gauteng, the country’s most populous province. It's unclear where the new variant actually arose, but it was first detected by scientists in South Africa and has also been seen in travelers to Hong Kong and Botswana.
On Friday, the World Health Organization was convening a group of experts to assess the data from South Africa.It appears to have a high number of mutations — about 30 — in the coronavirus’ spike protein, which could affect how easily it spreads to people. South African scientists have noticed a surge of cases, but we don't know if the new variant is responsible and it will take weeks to sort out if vaccines are still effective against it.
Francois Balloux, director of the Genetics Institute at University College London said it was impossible to make any predictions about whether or not the virus was more dangerous or infectious based on its genetic make-up alone.The coronavirus mutates as it spreads and many new variants, including those with worrying genetic changes, often just die out.
Balloux of University College London said that if the new variant turns out to be more infectious than delta, the new restrictions will have little impact but that they could still buy the U.K. some time to boost vaccination rates and roll out other possible interventions.The World Health Organization has convened a technical group of experts to decide whether the new variant warrants being designated a variant of interest or a variant of concern.
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