AS IF we were not having enough with all the mess and chaos Covid-19 has caused us these past months, a new variant of the SARS-Cov 2 virus has recently emerged in London, the UK.
Perfect…
They are just sly creatures that get so adaptive with their hosts, us. Like any other members of Coronavirus family, they are highly contagious and spread very easily through droplets. SARS-Cov 2 is even 20 times more contagious than SARS (in 2000s).
The variant was in fact discovered in the UK in September 2020. As of this month, more than 3,000 cases are found.
Why does the UK find it?
It seems that the country has one of the best genomic and molecular surveillance infrastructures in the world which enable their scientists to detect any mutation occurring. This can help us more prepared to prevent the spread.
The London variant seems to spread faster but there is no evidence so far that the variant is more lethal for humans.
So we should never underestimate this London variant.
Another variant called D614G was also discovered. But so far the variant also shows no signs of spreading faster and worsening the effects on humans than other previous variants.
The variant may also cause less accurate PCR test result, for our information, which makes us question if our negative result is really accurate. This holds true especially for all PCR test machines that target S gene to detect the presence of Covid-19 in one’s body.
As a consequence, Britons are not allowed to enter some countries. Sad, I know.
There may not be evidence that this virus is now spreading in my country but who knows? We know this country saves a lot of surprises. And headaches.
In the meantime, Singapore and Australia have been ‘gifted’ with the new London variant. This proves that climate difference won’t help. Covid-19 still spreads in both tropical and subtropical zones.
But again, whatever variant of Covid-19 evolves out there, you can just arm yourselves with proper hygiene procedures.
What we need to remember is that the mutation will not change the efficacy of Covid-19 vaccines. (*/)
Akhlis's Blog 