New Mutant UK COVID-19 Strain Detected in Australia, Italy

After the discovery of a novel mutant COVID-19 strain in Britain, detection of the new strain in Australia and Italy has also emerged, revealed sources. Australia's federal health minister Greg Hunt said on Monday that the new strain has been detected in a small number of cases, The Guardian reported.

The health ministry in Italy on Sunday said that it detected a patient with the new Covid-19 strain found in Britain. The patient, who is now in isolation, returned from the UK in the past few days.

India on Monday announced a temporary ban on flights coming from the UK till 11.59 p.m. on December 31. The suspension commences from 11.59 p.m. on December 22.

Several other countries, including France, Bulgaria, Germany, Italy, Belgium, the Irish Republic, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, Switzerland and Canada, had earlier announced the suspension of UK flights, the BBC reported.

The new variant has spread quickly in London and south-east England, but health officials in the UK said that there is no evidence that it is more deadly or would react differently to vaccines.

British health secretary Matt Hancock warned that the new variant, which may be up to 70 per cent more transmissible, is "getting out of control".

Source-IANS