AFRICA – New strains of COVID-19 that appear to be far more contagious are raising concern in both the UK and Africa and the CDC warns they might already be in the USA.
COVID-19 is already a highly contagious disease, spreading 10 times faster than most strains of influenza, but this new variant may spread even faster. Health official in the UK say the new strain is up to 70% more transmissible than the strain of the virus that’s shut down cities across the globe.
The discovery of the new strain prompted the UK to ramp up its lockdown measures and several European countries to close their borders to travel from Britain.
According to the World Health Organization, this strain of the virus has been spotted in Australia, Denmark, Italy, Iceland and the Netherlands.
The African CDC also announced the discovery of a different faster-spreading mutation of the virus. “Africa CDC is closely following up with authorities in South Africa, where the variant was first identified in Nelson Mandela Bay and has rapidly spread through the Eastern and Western Capes, as well as KwaZulu-Nata.
The CDC said that though the variant hasn’t been found in the U.S. yet, that doesn’t mean it’s not here. “Ongoing travel between the United Kingdom and the United States, as well as the high prevalence of this variant among current UK infections, increase the likelihood of importation. Given the small fraction of US infections that have been sequenced, the variant could already be in the United States without having been detected.”
People should continue wearing masks, social distancing, and frequently washing their hand to lessen the possibility of infection.