U.S. Officials Urge Calm Despite Finding New Covid-19 Strain Abroad
Over the weekend, the United Kingdom tightened COVID-19 restrictions due to a new, faster-spreading strain of the virus that experts say is moving through the commonwealth. Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced that parts of London would move to the highest level of restrictions after England’s public health officials confirmed that a variant of COVID-19 found in the country is moving 70 percent faster than other types.
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The strain was first detected by scientists in early December, according to the U.K. Health Secretary Matt Hancock. He first announced it on Dec. 14, saying that it was prominent in areas where the virus was spreading faster than expected. According to the Times citing a study published Dec. 18, researchers believe a mutation to the genes that code for COVID-19’s spike protein, the part of the virus that clings to human cells allowing for infection, likely causes its increased transmissibility.
Due to this, dozens of countries, including Canada, France, Germany, Israel, Iran, Colombia, and Morocco, have also suspended flights from the U.K. for 48 hours or more. Saudi Arabia has closed its borders and suspended all flights regardless of destination or origin, NBC news notes. Meanwhile, U.S. health officials are monitoring the new strain of COVID-19 emerging in the United Kingdom, U.S. Surgeon General Jerome Adams said on Sunday, adding that any mutation shows people must keep protecting themselves from the novel coronavirus while awaiting vaccination, Reuters report. “Viruses mutate all the time,” Adams told CBS News’ “Face the Nation” program.
“If this is a mutation that is more contagious, then that just means that we need to be that much more vigilant while we wait to be vaccinated.”
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