Iceland authorities impose new restrictions after detecting 6 cases of UK COVID variant

After six new coronavirus cases of the Britain variant were detected in Iceland, authorities imposed new restrictions. As per the new restrictions, all schools will remain shut. Gyms, pools, theaters, cinemas and bars will also remain shut. Restaurants, shops and hairdressers can remain open in a limited capacity. Gatherings of more than 10 people have been banned for three weeks. 

Prime Minister Katrin Jakobsdottir said, “We need to hit the brake”. He further added, “This variant seems to spread faster among children than we have previously experienced”. As per the authorities, the six people infected with the variant have infected around 22 others before they were diagnosed. According to a tally by the Johns Hopkins university, Iceland has a total of 6,158 cases with 29 fatalities. 

'Significantly higher' mortality rate

Earlier in March, scientists discovered that the more virulent UK strain of the coronavirus which was first detected across England and London has a "significantly higher” mortality rate. The variant dubbed as B.1.1.7, is “more lethal, and leads to more hospitalizations and caseload” as compared to the other mutants, based on the analysis of data released by New and Emerging Respiratory Virus Threats Advisory Group (NERVTAG) on SARS-CoV-2 variant. After several preliminary analyses, it was found that the death rate from the new SARS-CoV-2strain was 70 percent more lethal, a study published British Medical Journal revealed. 

The new study backed the UK government’s chief scientific adviser, Patrick Vallance’s preliminary analyses that suggested that in every 1000 men aged 60 years who were infected with the new variant 13 or 14 might be expected to die. Meanwhile, with respect to women, fatalities were10 in 1000 from the original variant. Researchers also found that around 8 percent of the total deaths occurring did not need hospital admission. “But what we have not been able to detect yet is an increased rate of hospitalization, or once in the hospital, an increased rate of dying with this variant versus another variant, so that’s where the uncertainty lies and that’s where the work is needed,” John Edmunds, a professor in the Centre for the Mathematical Modelling of Infectious Diseases at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine said.

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