Recently, two promising vaccines have been approved for use in several countries including Singapore, giving the world hope that it can end the Covid-19 pandemic.
But then the coronavirus swivelled around in its chair, and laughed maniacally while stroking a cat on its lap.
“I have been mutating this whole time, you fools!”
It turns out that there’s a new strain of the coronavirus in the UK which Prime Minister Boris Johnson said may be up to “70% more transmissible” than the original virus.
Naturally, people freaked out, because that’s just what we do.
But there may be no need for concern.
WHO Says There’s No Need for Alarm About New Coronavirus Strain from the UK
Calm your mammary glands, that’s essentially what the World Health Organisation (WHO) is saying.
The specialized agency said the mutation is simply a normal part of a pandemic’s evolution, and that it’s no cause for alarm.
For one, WHO officials said they had no evidence that this new strain of Covid-19 made people sicker or was more deadly than existing variants.
They did concede, though, that it did seem to spread more easily.
Vaccines Should Still Work
What’s surprising is that coronavirus mutations have actually so far been much slower than with influenza, according to WHO officials.
Moreover, the new variant in the UK is still much less transmissible than other diseases like mumps.
Fortunately, it seems like the vaccines we currently have will work against this variant, though checks are being carried out to confirm this.
The WHO added that one positive has also come out of this mutation; countries are taking more precautions.
Myriad countries including India and Argentina suspended flights from the UK for fear of the new virus strain spreading to their countries.
Other nations such as Germany, Ireland, Italy, Austria, Romania, The Netherlands, and Belgium have also said they are planning to block air travel with the UK.
Lockdowns Imposed In Britain
To combat the new Covid-19 strain, which may be more infectious, Britain ordered stricter lockdowns in London.
The UK’s capital and other areas in southern England were previously under Tier 3 restrictions, the highest level of coronavirus restrictions.
But these areas will now be under Tier 4 restrictions.
This means that non-essential shops, hairdressers, and indoor leisure venues must close.
The country had initially planned a five-day easing of social gathering rules that would allow up to three households to meet in “Christmas bubbles”, but this has been cancelled in the Tier 4 areas.
“It is with a very heavy heart that I must tell you we cannot proceed with Christmas as planned,” PM Johnson said.
The UK reported 33,364 new Covid-19 infections on Monday (21 Dec), bringing their total tally to 2,073,511.
Featured Image: Alexandros Michailidis / Shutterstock.com
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