This content was published on 24 January 2021 – 12:08
London, Jan 24 (EFE) .- The UK health authorities have detected 77 cases of the South African variant of the coronavirus in the country, but all of them are under strict observation, Health Minister Matt Hancock reported this Sunday.
These cases correspond to people who entered the country from South Africa and are not the result of transmission between the population, clarified the minister, given the growing concern about the impact that this variant may have on the vaccination plan.
Government scientists have insisted in recent days that the strain is analyzed and that it is not yet known exactly whether it is resistant to covid-19 vaccines.
“At this time these (cases) are all related to the trip. That is why we have strong border measures against the movement from South Africa,” the minister added in statements to the British BBC network.
The Government vetoed a few weeks ago the arrival of passengers from South Africa after detecting this variant and also the flights from Portugal and South America as a result of a new Brazilian strain.
In addition, the country has found nine cases of the Brazilian variant, the minister said, without providing further details.
The UK is vaccinating with Pfizer-BioNTech and Oxford / AstraZeneca preparations.
Meanwhile, Jonathan Van-Tam, England’s deputy medical director, one of the Government’s main advisers, warned today that it is possible that those vaccinated can transmit the virus, so he asked them to respect the confinement measures.
In an article published in the Sunday Telegraph, Van-Tam indicated that scientists still do not know if people who have been vaccinated “can still pass the virus to others, although they are protected” to avoid getting sick.
“So even after you have received both doses of the vaccine, you can still transmit COVID to another person and the chain of transmission will continue,” he added.
The United Kingdom registered 1,348 new deaths from coronavirus yesterday, below the record of 1,820 that it reported last Wednesday, as well as another 33,552 infections, according to the authorities.
According to the latest official data, until yesterday a total of 5,861,351 people have received the first of two doses of a vaccine against covid-19, while the number of citizens who have already received two doses amounts to 468,671.
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson admitted at a press conference on Friday that there is “evidence” that the variant identified in southeastern England “is associated with a higher level of mortality.” EFE
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