Coronavirus: South Africa clarified that its variant is not …

South African Minister of Health Zwelini Mkhize said there was no evidence that the new strain of coronavirus identified in her country is more dangerous or contagious than her British cousin, the variant that put the whole world in danger when it was discovered two weeks ago.

“Currently, there is no evidence that 501.V2 is more contagious than the UK variant, as suggested by the UK Minister of Health,” Zwelini Mkhize said in a statement, responding to UK accusations.

“There is also no evidence that it causes a more severe form of the disease or increases mortality., compared to the British variant or to one of the mutations identified in the world, ”he added.

UK Health Minister Matt Hancock on Wednesday said the new form of virus in South Africa was “of great concern because It is more contagious and seems to have mutated more than the one identified in the UK, and announced travel restrictions between the two countries.

These statements “may have created the perception that the South African variant was a significant factor in the UK second wave, but it is not,” Zwelini Mkhize said in his Christmas statement.

Evidence from research shows that the British mutation developed before the South African mutation, he added.

The South African minister further regretted that travel between the UK and his country had been banned. “There is no evidence to show that the South African strain is more pathogenic than the British strain. “, and this is what motivated this measure, he insisted.

South Africa, the most affected country on the continent with 26,000 deaths, has recorded more than 14,000 cases in the past two days, against an average of between 8,000 and 10,000 at the start of the week.

The South African strain

Call 501.V2, the variant has been detected in recent months for the first time in Eastern Cape and since then it has spread to other provinces of the country.

It was identified by South African researchers, who have sequenced hundreds of samples across the country since the pandemic began in March, but recently observed that one particular variant dominated the results.

The South African team of researchers, led by Professor Tulio de Oliveira (KRISP center, University of Kwazulu-Natal), shared their observations with the scientific community and WHO.

In addition, South African doctors had warned of an evolving epidemiological landscape, with younger patients, without co-morbidities, developing severe forms of the disease.

According to the minister, all the elements “strongly indicate that the second wave is driven by this new variant”.