“We have unfortunately detected a new variant which is of concern in South Africa,” virologist Tulio de Oliveira said at an online press conference.
The B.1.1.529 variant has an "extremely high" number of mutations, according to South African scientists who had previously detected the contagious Beta variant.
At this stage, scientists are unsure of the effectiveness of anti-Covid vaccines against this new form of the virus.
The appearance of this variant is undoubtedly at the origin of the "exponential" increase in contaminations in recent weeks, according to the Minister of Health, Joe Phaahla, present at the press conference.
Other cases have been reported in neighboring Botswana and Hong Kong, on a person returning from a trip to South Africa.
The world facing the coronavirus Simon MALFATTO AFP
South Africa, which fears a new wave of the pandemic by the end of the year, is officially the most affected on the continent by the pandemic.
It has more than 2.9 million cases and more than 89,600 deaths.
The worldwide pandemic is currently dominated by the spread of the highly contagious Delta variant, initially detected in India.
© 2021 AFP