COVID-19: UK detects 2 cases of South Africa's virus strain, all direct flights banned

UK health secretary, Matt Hancock announced on December 23 that UK has identified a second ‘more transmissible’ COVID-19 variant linked to South Africa that is spreading at a dangerous rate, just as the tiering system was put in place to control the first new variant. At least two cases in London and North West England who were diagnosed positive to the coronavirus’ second new variant were put under quarantine. Both the patients had travelled from South Africa over the last few weeks, the health secretary said at the Downing Street conference. 

Effective 9 am today, December 24, those coming to England who has transited or had been to South Africa in the last 10 days will not be allowed to enter the country, Hancock said. Furthermore, the UK has banned all direct flights to South Africa with immediate effect barring the cargo and freight. All permanent residency visa holders and British and Irish nationals would be allowed to return to the UK but will have to mandatorily quarantine for at least 10 days as per the new rules. Under the new travel restrictions to South Africa, anyone in the UK who had returned from South Africa in the past fortnight was asked to immediately isolate and get themselves tested at the nearest centre. “By quarantine, I mean they restrict all contact with any other person whatsoever. We will be changing the law to give this legal effect imminently,” Hancock warned. 

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Doubling time 'alarmingly shorter'

The new second variant called N501Y has some similarities with the first one detected in the UK but has evolved into something ‘extremely explosive’, according to the British health ministry. South African health minister doctor Zweli Mkhize compared the variant outbreak to the “early days of the AIDS pandemic” and one that makes “younger and previously healthy people severely ill.” According to UK health secretary Hancock, after a meeting with Chief Scientific Advisor and Chief Medical Officer, it was found that the second variant’s doubling time has been alarmingly shorter. The mutated variant was being analyzed further at Porton Down. Across the UK, COVID-19 cases have risen 57 percent in the last week, with hospital admissions hitting 1,909 a day, the highest recorded since April, Hancock said. 

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