December 19, 2020, 9:41 PM | Updated: December 19, 2020, 9:45 PM
A new form of coronavirus is behind the rising infections in the UK.
Image: Getty
A new variant of coronavirus has engulfed London and the Southeast and is spreading faster than the original strain.
The government’s chief scientific adviser, Sir Patrick Vallance, warned that the new Covid variant became the dominant species after a rapid increase in the number of cases in recent days.
Standing next to him at the Downing Street press conference on Saturday, England’s chief medical officer, Professor Chris Whitty, said the new variant could spread faster.
The rapid transmission across the region has resulted in London, the South East and parts of East England being subject to new Tier 4 restrictions from Sunday morning.
So what is the new mutated form of coronavirus? Where does the new variant occur? And are there different symptoms?
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What is the new coronavirus strain?
The new strain is a mutation in the SARS-CoV-2 virus that was at the heart of the coronavirus outbreak in the UK.
It has been named VUI-202012/01, the first variant to be investigated by Public Health England (PHE) in December.
There are currently about 4,000 mutations in the spike protein gene.
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Is the new Covid variant more deadly or more dangerous?
Although the new variety spreads faster and is therefore more difficult to control, there is currently no evidence that it is more deadly or causes more serious symptoms.
There have also been several mutations of Covid-19 that have entered communities without real consequences.
However, Prime Minister Boris Johnson said early analysis showed that the new species could increase the rate of reproduction by 0.4 or more and it could be up to 70 percent more transmittable than the old variety.
Sir Patrick confirmed this, saying the variant had “a significant substantial increase in portability.”
New strains are not always a bad thing, and it can be even less virulent, but if it spreads faster and is equally severe, more people will get sick in a shorter time.
Do vaccines work against the new strain?
Prof Whitty said there is currently no evidence to suggest that the new strain causes a higher death rate or that it affects vaccines and treatments.
However, he said there was “urgent work” to confirm this and warned that it was “more important than ever” that people continue to take action to reduce the spread of the virus.
Health Secretary Matt Hancock also said the latest clinical advice is that it is highly unlikely that this mutation will not respond to a vaccine, as it produces antibodies against many regions in the spike protein.
But PHE said this new variant contains a mutation in the spike protein, and this could cause the virus to become more contagious and spread more easily between humans.
Where does the new variant occur?
PHE said 1,108 cases of this new variant had been identified as of December 13, mainly in London and southeast England.
Sir Patrick said that by December more than 60 percent of infections in the capital had been confirmed as the new variant, saying, “It is moving fast and becoming the dominant variant.”
Prof Whitty added that there was a risk that the variant “would go to other parts of the country where it is currently not a problem”.
However, he said measures such as social distancing and limiting contact would help prevent its spread throughout the UK.
What are the symptoms of the new variant?
Prof Whitty said there was nothing to indicate that the new mutation causes symptoms different from the original strain.
He also said testing for it remains the same and the clinical outcome is no different for this variant.
The NHS also confirmed that the new strain causes the same symptoms, meaning people will still experience a high fever, a persistent cough, loss of taste and smell, or a combination of all of the above.
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