[국제]Corona 19 mutant virus spreads in the UK “Even children are easily infected”

[앵커]

It is estimated that the corona 19 mutant virus, which is rapidly spreading in the UK, is easily infected by children.

Until now, it has been thought that children are not as prone to Corona 19 as adults, or are less likely to spread to others if they do.

Reporter Won-bae Kim reports.

[기자]

Scientists from the new respiratory virus threat advisory group who are analyzing the COVID-19 mutant virus in the UK held a press conference and introduced the analysis results so far.

Scientists predict that the new mutant virus has become the dominant viral species in southern England, and the trend will soon spread across the UK.

“There are signs that the mutant virus is more prone to infect children,” said Neil Ferguson, a professor at Imperial College.

Professor Ferguson said, “The causal relationship has not been identified, but when you look at the data, it comes out.”

He said that only by gathering more data will we know how the mutant virus will affect us in the future.

Wendy Barclay, professor of virology at Imperial College, says one of the changes in the new mutant virus lies in the way it penetrates human cells.

“Perhaps children are more susceptible to the virus as adults, and more children are expected to become infected in the future,” he said.

The World Health Organization, the WHO, says the mutated COVID-19 spread in the UK is not out of control.

[마이클 라이언 / WHO 긴급대응팀장 : (이번 대유행의 다른 지점들에서 훨씬 더 높은 전염률이 발생했고 우리는 이를 통제했다는 점에서) 이 상황은 통제 불능이 아닙니다.]

“We can’t let it go wild,” said Ryan, stressing the need for continued quarantine measures in governments.

This is YTN Kim Won-bae.

[저작권자(c) YTN & YTN plus 무단전재 및 재배포 금지]

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