A new COVID-19 variant was found in the United Kingdom. The variant was first detected in Columbia in January 2021. Until now, 16 cases surfaced in the country. Here’s what we know so far.
What is this new COVID-19 variant?
UK’s Public Health recently identified a new variant of COVID-19. Detailed investigations started after the confirmation of 16 new cases in the UK alone. The variant is B.1.621 and was first found in Columbia. However, we don’t know a lot about the new strain. There is little known about how effective COVID-19 vaccines are against it or if the variant is more severe than the ones before. “Most of the cases are linked to overseas travel. There is currently no evidence of community transmission in the UK,” reported the Independent.
The current COVID-19 situation in the UK
The COVID-19 situation in the United Kingdom is worsening. The new surge in coronavirus infection attributes to the Delta variant of COVID-19. Britain alone reported a total of 31,794 positive COVID-19 cases on Saturday. However, despite this new surge in cases, the COVID-19 restrictions were lifted earlier this week in the United Kingdom.
Additionally, according to official reports, the R rate of coronavirus infections is around 1.2 to 1.4 in the UK. This means that one person can infect more than one person. Hence, it is not surprising that the infection rates in households of the UK are the highest since January 2021.
