United Kingdom Secretary of State for Health and Social Care Matt Hancock recently announced the discovery of the new strain ‘mutated’ version of coronavirus.British Prime Minister Boris Johnson on December 19 made the announcement about the new variant of the Sars-Cov-2, saying it has spread rapidly in parts of the country, and was estimated by scientists to be 70 per cent more transmissible.
Less than 24 hours after the announcement, several countries including Netherlands, Germany, Belgium, Canada, Austria and Italy have suspended flights from UK.
The new variant, code-named as B.1.1.7, has been widely tracked in the recent cases in the UK.
What is the new 'mutant' strain?
a. The mutated version of covid is rapidly replacing other versions of the coronavirus.b. Parts of the virus have demonstrated mutations. c. Some of these mutations have already been found to increase the ability to infect cells.
With these three factors, it is believed that the new mutant virus strain can spread easily.
Is the new 'mutant' deadly?
So far there have been no evidence to suggest that the mutant coronavirus strain is more deadly. Although that will need to be ascertained. However, increasing transmission is a cause for concern not only for the masses in general but also for healthcare infrastructure. “This new variant is showing some 17 changes in the genome, this is a very large change. Due to this change, the transmissibility of this virus has also changed and is 70% more infectious compared to the earlier variant,” Gupte said.
Meanwhile Union Health Minister Harsh Vardhan on Monday clarified that there is no need to panic as the government is alert on the issue. "The government is alert. There is no need to panic. Do not get yourself tangled in the imaginary situation, talks and panic," Vardhan said during a press conference on India International Science Festival 2020.
Earlier, the Health Ministry called an emergency meeting of its top advisors to discuss the emergence of the mutated strain of coronavirus in the United Kingdom, which has led to massive surge in cases and prompted several countries to stop incoming flights from the country.