British Health Minister Matt Hancock is announcing the British government’s response to the COVID-19 variant at a press briefing on the 23rd (local time).[AP=연합뉴스]
– Another strain was confirmed in the UK, which entered a strong containment after a new strain of coronavirus infection (Corona 19) with strong transmission power was discovered. Accordingly, the British government expanded the blockade of the highest (phase 4) applied in London and southeast England to neighboring regions.
South African variant with strong transmission power found in UK
Health Minister “Concerned about more stools”
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According to the British Guardian on the 23rd (local time), British Health Minister Matt Hancock said, “A new virus strain has been found in the UK” and is “a very worrisome variant.”
The new variant was confirmed to have been brought from South Africa. It was named ‘501.V2′, and like’VUI-202012/01’ recently discovered in the UK, it has stronger spreading power than the existing Corona 19 virus. The South African government announced on the 18th that ‘501.V2’ is leading the spread of its country.
The UK’s Public Health Administration discovered that two British citizens had contracted the virus after contacting travelers from South Africa.
“New variant, more severe viral mutation”
– The reason Minister Hancock is’very concerned’ is that the level of mutation of the 501.V2 virus is more severe than the previously identified strain. “This strain is more likely to spread and appears to have been more mutated than the strains recently discovered in Britain,” said Hancock.
“It’s really shocking news with the addition of a new emergency,” said Laby Gupta, professor of clinical microbiology at the University of Cambridge, in an interview with The Guardian. He advised the government that “the vaccination should be accelerated by focusing on the’corona hotspot’ area.”
Earlier, Professor Gupta said that the VUI-202012/01 virus was not enough to neutralize the existing vaccine, but was concerned that too many mutations occurred. He explained that if more mutations occur in the future, the vaccine may be less effective.
The two viruses have evolved separately in different regions, but they have something in common. It has a mutation called’N501YU’. It was analyzed that this mutation makes it easier for the virus to penetrate into human cells and thus has a high transmission power.
The British government has restricted travel to South Africa and said that anyone who has visited or contacted South Africa within the last 14 days must immediately enter self-isolation.
4 steps to expand… 24 million people affected
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![Daytime on the 20th (local time) of downtown London, which has entered the fourth stage of blockade, the highest level of restrictions set by the British government.[EPA=연합뉴스]](https://i0.wp.com/pds.joins.com/news/component/htmlphoto_mmdata/202012/24/8cfac871-5446-4d64-b4af-e0559251a86e.jpg?w=900&ssl=1)
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Daytime on the 20th (local time) of downtown London, which has entered the fourth stage of blockade, the highest level of restrictions set by the British government.[EPA=연합뉴스]
– The British government will also strengthen the blockade in England from the 26th.
The top-notch restrictions, entering the fourth phase, are in southeast England and the neighboring areas of London (Sussex, Oxfordshire, Suffolk, Norfolk, Cambridgeshire and Hampshire). 6 million people here are ordered to “stay at home except in exceptional circumstances.” The area applied to the second stage was upgraded to stage 3, and the area at stage 1 excluding the Silli system was upgraded to stage 2.
The Guardian said, “about 24 million people, which make up 42% of the population of England, are under the fourth level of blockade, and 25 million people, or 44%, are under the third level.”
However, it is pointed out that the new restrictions are applied from the 26th of the Christmas holiday, and there is a limit.
“While waiting for the restrictions, the strain will spread north and the nation will be in danger,” said Professor Christina Paisel of University College London.
The number of new confirmed cases in the UK on this day was 39,237, a record high from the previous day. The number of deaths per day was 733.
“In the past week, the number of infected people across the country increased 57%, and the number of hospitalizations was the highest since mid-April,” said Hancock.
Reporter Jeong Eun-hye [email protected]
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