UK’s Health Secretary Matt Hancock announced today that a second “more transmissible” strain of COVID-19 that was initially found in South Africa, has been detected in the UK.
The “more transmissible” COVID-19 strain linked to South Africa has been found in two individuals in the UK.
Both cases are contacts of people who have recently traveled from South Africa to the UK, Matt Hancock said during a press conference.
UK has imposed immediate travel restrictions for travelers from South Africa.
Any individual who has traveled to South Africa in the period of two weeks, and anyone they have been in contact with, are being asked to quarantine immediately.
“We are incredibly grateful to the South African government for the rigor of their science and the openness and the transparency with which they have rightly acted as we did when we discovered a new variant here,” said UK’s Health Secretary Matt Hancock
“This new variant is highly concerning because it is yet more transmissible and it appears to have mutated further than the new variant that has been discovered in the UK.”
Hancock further said, “By quarantine, I mean they must restrict all contact with any other person whatsoever. We will be changing the law to give this legal effect imminently.”
WATCH: Matt Hancock says a new strain of Sars-Cov-2, which is believed to have originated in South Africa, has been detected in the UK
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