The super-infectious mutant strain of coronavirus that was first detected in Kent has spread to at least 60 other countries, the World Health Organization said today. Cases of the B.1.1.7 variant, sometimes known as VOC 202012/01, have been reported in most of continental Europe, as well as in nations further afield including the US, Australia, India, … Read more
South Korea is the latest country to record its first cases of the new highly-infections UK variant of coronavirus brought in by three travellers from London. Officials have vowed to speed up the roll-out of a nation-wide coronavirus vaccination programme after detecting the new strain. The variant – thought to be more transmissible than others currently circulating – … Read more
The highly infectious mutant strain of coronavirus found in Kent could be more likely to affect children, scientists have warned. Modellers at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine found the new virus strain is 56 per cent per cent more infectious. Even if another national lockdown was implemented, it would be ‘unlikely’ to … Read more
A minute mutation to the strain of coronavirus that’s spread in the US and Italy have made it far more infectious than other variants of the virus are, a new study suggests. The potent version of SARS-CoV-2 has four to five times more ‘spikes’ that allow it to latch onto human cells on its surface. … Read more