China News Service, December 26. According to Singapore’s “Lianhe Zaobao” report, following a new variant of the coronavirus that was previously discovered in southeast England, another variant of the virus was also found in the UK. Found in South Africa.

According to reports, because the mutant virus discovered in South Africa is more transmissible than the mutant virus previously appeared in the UK, the UK has restricted the entry of passengers from South Africa and at the same time raised the level of epidemic prevention and control in more domestic areas to the highest level. Level four.

Data map: London, England before Christmas, there are few pedestrians on the street, and theaters and non-essential shops are all closed.

Photo by Zhang Mengqi issued by China News Service

  British Health Minister Hancock said at an outbreak press conference on December 23, local time, that the United Kingdom has found two confirmed cases related to another variant virus. The two infected persons were from London and Northwest England. Have contact with people who have returned from South Africa in recent weeks.

The two patients and their close contacts have been isolated, and those who have been to South Africa in the past two weeks and their close contacts must also be isolated immediately.

  The British government also banned the entry of passengers who have been to South Africa within 10 days from Thursday and suspended direct flights between the two countries.

British and Irish citizens, visa holders and permanent residents can still enter the country, but they must be isolated from their families for 10 days.

Data map: On December 8, local time, the United Kingdom began vaccinating the new crown vaccine, giving priority to nursing home staff, people over 80, and frontline medical and social workers.

  Discover another mutant virus thanks to South African gene sequencing

  Hancock said: "This new variant is very worrying because it is more contagious and the degree of mutation seems to be greater than the variant virus strain found in the UK."

  Hancock also pointed out that the two cases were found in the UK thanks to South Africa’s excellent viral gene sequencing capabilities.

The South African Ministry of Health notified last week that a new type of coronavirus has been found in the country, which may be the reason for the recent surge in cases in the country.

Local scientists pointed out that this new virus strain has become the mainstream virus strain in parts of South Africa.

  At the same time, the Israeli Ministry of Health announced on Wednesday that it had found four cases related to the variant virus strains that appeared in the United Kingdom. Three of the infected persons recently returned from the United Kingdom, and the fourth case is still under investigation.

Irish health officials also believe that the mutant virus has been introduced into the country.

  Hopkins, a medical adviser to the Public Health Agency of England, pointed out that the variant virus strains found in South Africa and the United Kingdom are very different. The mutations of the two are not the same, but they seem to be more easily spread.

Preliminary studies have shown that the transmission power of the variant virus in the UK is 70% higher than that of the original strain; scientists are still learning about the variant virus found in South Africa, but data show that it spreads faster.

On December 8, the United Kingdom began to vaccinate the new crown vaccine. Priority will be given to vaccinations for nursing home staff, people over 80, and front-line medical and social workers before providing vaccination services to other groups. At that time, vaccinations will be determined according to age and infection risk The order of precedence.

  Expert: Believe that existing vaccines are effective against mutant viruses

  Nevertheless, Hopkins expressed confidence that the mutant virus can be controlled.

She also said that the existing new crown vaccine is believed to be effective against mutant strains.

  The United Kingdom previously reported 39,237 new confirmed cases, the highest in a single day since the outbreak of the new crown epidemic; there were 744 new deaths that day, the highest since the end of April.

In the past week, the number of new confirmed cases of new crown in the UK has increased by 57% from the previous week.

  Due to the continuous surge in cases, the level of epidemic prevention and control in Sussex, Oxfordshire, Suffolk, Norfolk, Cambridgeshire and other places in England will be upgraded to level 4 from the 26th local time.

Previously, only the capital London and the southeastern part of England were ranked fourth.

All non-essential stores in the fourth-level areas must be closed, and restrictions on social activities are stricter.