A study at the London School of Hygiene And Tropical Medicine found the new coronavirus mutation spreading in the U.K. is upwards of 50% more contagious, less than the figure floated by the government when it instituted harsh lockdowns last week but still enough to dramatically worsen the country’s coronavirus outbreak, researchers suggest.
The study (which has not been peer reviewed) suggests the new coronavirus variant is about 56% more transmissible than previously existing strains.
Last week, Prime Minister Boris Johnson said it may have been as much as 70% more infectious when he used the strain as a factor in putting London and much of south England under new coronavirus restrictions.
While scientists believe the strain’s transmissibility is not quite that high, they note the mutation will likely cause far more hospitalizations and deaths next year than the country saw in 2020.
However, researchers maintain there is still no evidence that suggests the new strain is any more dangerous, deadly or resistant to coronavirus vaccines.
The scientists behind the study said the regional lockdowns the U.K. has put into effect are unlikely to dampen the spread of the virus enough to meet the government’s goals unless schools and universities are also shuttered.
The U.K.’s best bet to beat the mutation, scientists predict, is to “greatly accelerate vaccine roll-out.”
The new, more infectious strain of coronavirus is said to be a major factor behind the U.K.’s surge in new cases and deaths attributed to the virus this week. On Wednesday, the country reported nearly 40,000 new daily coronavirus cases, the highest number seen in the entirety of the pandemic, along with the most deaths seen in a single 24-hour period since late April. Dozens of countries have banned travellers from Britain as a response to the new coronavirus strain. In total, the U.K. has counted 2.1 million confirmed coronavirus cases and nearly 70,000 deaths, according to a Johns Hopkins University tracker, making it one of the most pummeled countries in Europe by the pandemic.
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