Mystery Person Infected With COVID 'Variant of Concern' Found in UK

The mystery person infected with the coronavirus "variant of concern", which first emerged in Brazil has been identified in UK, confirmed UK Health Secretary Matt Hancock.

Speaking at a Downing Street press briefing on Friday, Hancock said he was "delighted" in the success of the "flat out work" of health officials to identify the missing case, reports Xinhua news agency.

COVID-19 Vaccination in India: Issues and Challenges
India’s COVID-19 vaccination program has been launched. It currently uses the vaccines Covishield and Covaxin. There are some issues and challenges that need to be overcome in order to vaccinate all Indians.

‘There are concerns that COVID variant may spread more easily, might evade the immune system, or that vaccines might be less effective against it. ’

Tweet it Now

The "best evidence" shows that the person has stayed at home and there's no sign there has been any onward transmission, said Hancock.

However, testing will be increased in the local area as a precaution, he added.

The latest development came after six cases of the P1 variant were found in Britain last week, but one had been unidentified as this person failed to complete the test registration card properly.

Coronavirus
Coronaviruses infect animals, humans, and birds. Human coronaviruses, such as SARS, MERS, and 2019-nCoV cause respiratory distress and even death. The S protein is the infectious agent of the virus.

The Health Secretary said the current vaccines deployed in Britain had "not yet been studied against this variant" but that work is underway to "understand what impact it might have".

"One of the most dangerous things about this virus is around one-third of those who get it don't get any symptoms at all," Hancock said.

PM Narendra Modi Says India Turned World's Pharmacy Amid COVID
During the COVID-19 crisis, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said that India has turned into world's pharmacy and many foreign nations have expressed confidence in the country's medicines.

Therefore, rapid, regular testing is a "critical part" of the Britain's response to the pandemic, he said.

Hancock also confirmed that two-fifths of Britain's entire adult population of have now been vaccinated.

WHO Says COVID-19 Caused More Mass Trauma Than World War II
The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic has caused more mass trauma than World War II and warned of its lasting consequences, said World Health Organization (WHO) officials.

The government is "on course" to offering a first vaccine dose to all adults by the end of July, he added.

Source-IANS