World News: Britain says new Covid-19 variant is the most significant yet found – Gulf Digital News

World News: Britain says new Covid-19 variant is the most significant yet found – Gulf Digital News

Britain said on Friday that a newly identified coronavirus variant spreading in South Africa was of huge concern, and considered by scientists to be the most significant one yet found as it could make vaccines less effective.

The UK Health Security Agency said that the variant - called B.1.1.529 - had a spike protein that was dramatically different to the one in the original coronavirus that Covid-19 vaccines are based on.

The variant has also been found in Botswana and Hong Kong, and Britain has banned flights from South Africa and five neighbouring countries."There are no detected cases of this variant in the UK at this time. But this new variant is of huge international concern," health minister Sajid Javid told lawmakers.

"We are concerned that this new variant may pose a substantial risk to public health. The variant has an unusually large number of mutations."Javid paid tribute to South African scientists for their openness and transparency. South Africa has said that Britain's decision to halt flights from the country seemed rushed.

Javid emphasised that there was much that was not yet known about the variant, but early indications suggested it might render vaccines less effective and be more transmissible, and he was