Also from the Grauniad....today, 13:47
www.theguardian.com/world/2020/dec/19/new-coronavirus-strain-in-south-east-england-prompts-fears-of-third-lockdown
[Presumably the same] Dr Ewan Birney, the deputy director general of the European Molecular Biological Laboratory, said while viruses mutated regularly, the recent strain was alarming scientists.
“When there’s growth [of a virus], there’s always some strains growing and some shrinking. What’s concerned scientists this time around is that there’s been one quite different strain. It has quite a few more, different mutations, and it’s been growing very strongly in the south-east of England,” he told the BBC’s Today programme on Saturday.
"While it is difficult to say whether the new strain is responsible for an increase in coronavirus transmission in the region, Birney said “the evidence is pointing in that direction”, adding that “most scientists on the transmissibility of this new strain think it’s going faster”.
"However, the virus may become less virulent as it mutates, meaning it can “transmit faster but cause less disease”, he said.
Last edited by: smokie on Sat 19 Dec 20 at 22:32
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