UK-Linked Coronavirus Variant Spreads To 60 Countries, S.Africa-Linked Strain To 23 - WHO

MOSCOW (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 20th January, 2021) A new coronavirus variant, known as VOC 202012/01, that was first identified in the United Kingdom in late 2020 had spread to 60 countries, the World Health Organization (WHO) said in its weekly epidemiological update on Tuesday, adding that another new strain linked to South Africa and labeled as 501Y.V2 had spread to 23 countries.

"Since the last update on 12 January, VOC 202012/01 has been detected in 10 additional countries, territories and areas (hereafter countries). To date, 60 countries across all six WHO regions have reported either imported cases or community transmission of this variant .... Concurrently, variant 501Y.V2 has been reported from three additional countries - now totaling 23 countries across four of the six WHO regions," the WHO's report said.

According to the update, 4.7 million COVID-19 cases were reported to the WHO in the past week, a six percent decline from the previous update. Meanwhile, the number of coronavirus-related fatalities increased by a record 93,000 during the same period and increased by nine percent when compared to the week before.

In December, the UK informed the WHO of a mutated variant of SARS-CoV-2, which is reported to be 70 percent more transmissible than other coronavirus strains. Although the new strain has not been proven to be more pathogenic, many states shut their borders and suspended travel with the United Kingdom. The closures, however, has so far not prevented the strain from infiltrating dozens of countries.

Another mutant strain was detected in South Africa at approximately the same time.