What we know so far about the new virus mutation

British Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced on Saturday that the recently discovered coronavirus variant is up to 70 percent more contagious than the previously known form. “There’s still a lot we don’t know. But there is no evidence that the new variant causes more or more severe disease,” said Johnson.

A higher mortality rate from the virus variant VUI2020 / 12/01 has not yet been determined. The top scientific government advisor Patrick Vallance emphasized that in December 60 percent of the new infections in London affected the new variant. “It is spreading rapidly and is about to become the dominant line,” he said.

–