UK's COVID-19 variant has been in Germany since November: Health Officials

The new variant of the coronavirus that recently swept across the UK has been in Germany since November, German health officials announced. Scientists detected the new variant after they sequenced the type of B1.1.7 virus in a COVID-19 positive patient who died in November and had returned from the UK. A team at Hannover medical school (MHH) found after genome sequencing that the strain in deceased COVID patient matched the new variant that accounted for a large number of cases due to high contagion in the south of England, Ministry of Health of Lower Saxony said in a statement cited by a Guardian report. 

A team of researchers at Berlin’s Charité hospital lead by Germany’s top virologist Christian Drosten concluded the result on December 28, saying, that the new variant has been existent in Germany since November. Germany, this week, had officially reported the first case of the new UK variant in a woman who was a London returnee. Te strain was also reported by Portugal, India, France, Jordan, and South Korea.

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South African variant spread

Meanwhile, UK had detected the second ‘more transmissible’ COVID-19 variant linked to South Africa that it said was spreading at a dangerous rate, just as the tiering system was put in place to control the first new variant.  UK health secretary, Matt Hancock announced that two cases in London and North West England who were diagnosed positive for the coronavirus’ second new variant were put under quarantine. Additionally, the UK imposed sweeping measures as it banned all travellers coming to England who has transited or had been to South Africa in the last 10 days. 

Earlier, Japan also detected one case of the new coronavirus variant 501.V2 from South Africa, the government announced in a release. Several cases of the new highly transmissible coronavirus variant spreading in the UK have been already found in the country in people who had recently arrived from the UK. The case of the South Africa variant was identified in a woman in her 30s who arrived in Japan on Dec. 19. Health officials said that the variant might be responsible for the sudden surge in the coronavirus outbreak across Japan. 

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