The spread of the British variant of the corona virus no longer seems to be stopped in the Netherlands. The new variant has so far been established in two Dutch people, but the RIVM suspects that the corona variant has now spread further across the country.
“Several signals indicate this,” says Chantal Reusken, chief virologist at the RIVM to the NOS. It will be a matter of days before the new variant will appear in samples performed in corona tests in different regions, she says.
For the time being, the British variant does not seem more harmful, but more contagious. “Evidence is piling up that this variant infects people more easily. It is expected that this variant, just like in the United Kingdom, will eventually become the dominant strain in the Netherlands”, says Reusken.
To find out how the variant is spreading in the Netherlands, random checks are carried out at various coronate labs. The samples of people who have themselves tested are examined to monitor which variants of the corona virus cause infections in the Netherlands.
No link with VK
So far, the weekly random checks of 500 samples at a time have shown that two people from the Amsterdam region had the variant. One person was tested at the beginning of December, the other person eight days later.
The GGD informs the NOS that no link with the United Kingdom was found for either person via the source and contact investigation. The persons have not traveled and have become infected separately from each other. As far as is known, the suspected sources of the infections have also not been in the UK.
The missing connection with the UK and the fact that there are about ten days between the infections of the two people, reinforce Reusken’s idea that the variant of the virus is now widely circulating. “Amsterdam is a heavily inhabited region, it is a bad sign that it will show up there.”
She thinks that the variant is not yet dominant in the Netherlands. “Then we would have seen him more often.” According to her, the sharp increase in the number of infections since last month cannot be explained by the introduction of the new variant.
GGD must report
Apart from the entry ban (which has since been lifted), no new measures have been taken until today to prevent the spread of the English corona variant within the Netherlands. For example, the GGD did not have to pay extra attention to a connection with the UK during the source and contact investigation.
This afternoon, a change came: a spokesperson for RIVM said that the GGDs were asked by letter “to verify whether there is a direct link with the UK, with him / herself or his / her contacts in persons who have demonstrated the English variant. “. Such contacts must be reported to the RIVM.
In addition, in the coming period in the event of special outbreaks, for example when there are suddenly many infections in a nursing home, additional research will be carried out. “In the case of samples from the corona tests, it is then given priority to see whether they are the British variant,” says Reusken.
“The measures we already have to prevent the circulation of the virus will remain in place and will not be changed by this new variant. If the variant is actually more contagious, you could say that the need to comply with the measures will only increase. is, ”she says.
Under control
Frits Rosendaal, epidemiologist at the LUMC, says it is plausible that the English variant will become dominant in the Netherlands. “It is already there and it is spreading, besides it seems much more contagious.”
To determine the degree of infectivity, he says, you should look at the extent to which the virus strain will predominate other strains. With a more contagious virus you need to consume less to become ill, it will push away other strains. In England that seems to be happening now.
Rosendaal: “If this variant is widely circulated in the Netherlands, it will take longer for the epidemic to be under control. Then you will have to take the same measures that we are already taking, but more people will have to stick to it to reduce the number of infections. What else can you do in the Netherlands? We only have a curfew left. “
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