Chennai: British Health Secretary Matt Hancock has said a new, potentially more infectious variant of the novel coronavirus that causes Covid-19 has been found in Britain in cases linked to South Africa.
Speaking to the media, he said, “Thanks to the impressive genomic capability of the South Africans, we’ve detected two cases of another new variant of coronavirus here in the UK.”
He said further: “Both are contacts of cases who have travelled from South Africa over the past few weeks.”
He added: “This new variant is highly concerning, because it is yet more transmissible, and it appears to have mutated further than the new variant has been discovered in the UK.”
Britain is already trying to curb the spread of a mutated strain of the virus which is up to 70 per cent more transmissible, and further studies aerie being carried out on the new variant.