A new variant of the coronavirus, which is blamed for an explosive outbreak in South Africa, is a cause for concern. The WHO will probably consider it on Friday.
South Africa is experiencing an increasing spread of infection, which according to researchers can be attributed to a new variant of the coronavirus.
Photo: AP / NTB
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“Unfortunately, we have discovered a new variant that gives cause for concern,” the South African virologist Tulio de Oliveira stated at a hastily convened press conference on Thursday.
The variant, which goes by the name B. 1.1.529, has a very high number of mutations. “Unfortunately, this leads to an outbreak of infection,” he said.
22 cases of the new variant have been identified.
South African Health Minister Joe Phaahla says it gives cause for “serious concern” because it is behind an “exceptional” increase in the number of new cases of infection.
The infection has increased tenfold in the country since the turn of the month, to 1,200 new cases of infection on Wednesday from 106 earlier in November.
The virus variant has also been detected in Botswana and Hong Kong among people who have been to South Africa.
WHO investigates
The World Health Organization (WHO) says it is “following closely” the variant, and that a meeting is expected on Friday, where it will be decided whether the variant should be classified as “of interest” or “of concern”.
Preliminary analyzes show that this variant has a large number of mutations that must and will be studied further, it is stated in a statement. Researchers believe the variant has at least ten mutations, up from two for Delta and three for Beta.
– The concern is that when you have so many mutations, it can affect how the virus behaves, said Maria Van Kerkhove, who heads WHO’s corona research.
– It will take a few weeks before we understand what kind of impact this variant has on possible vaccines, she added.
The many mutations make it more complicated to fight the variant, according to the South African virus researcher Penny Moore.
– This variant has many mutations that we are not familiar with, she added.
Stock market and oil price decline
The most important stock exchanges in Asia reacted poorly to the news. On Friday, the main Nikkei 225 index in Tokyo had fallen 3 percent around lunchtime, while the broader Topix index was also down 2.3 percent. The Hang Seng index in Hong Kong lost just over 2 percent.
The virus variant has led to fears that the world’s governments will once again impose restrictions on global tourism, which affects both the industry and oil prices. At around 5.30 Norwegian time on Friday, a barrel of North Sea oil was down 2 per cent, while US WTI oil was down around 2.6 per cent.
The Australian airline Qantas was down more than 5 percent, while Hong Kong-listed Cathay Pacific lost more than 3 percent.
Britain and Israel close the border
The United Kingdom announced on Thursday that as a result of the new virus variant, they will refuse entry to anyone coming from six countries in southern Africa.
Flights from South Africa, Namibia, Lesotho, Eswatini, Zimbabwe and Botswana will not land in the UK from Friday at 12 British time, says Minister of Health Sajid Javid.
Israel has also immediately reclassified the same countries, as well as Mozambique.
Travelers from there will no longer be allowed to enter, while Israelis returning from the countries will have to be quarantined in hotels for up to 14 days, with the possibility of coming out after a week if they take a negative PCR test, Prime Minister Naftali Bennett’s office said after a meeting on Thursday.
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