Britain’s “mysterious patient” infected with the highly contagious Brazilian variant of the coronavirus was finally found after a five-day human hunt across the country.
Two officials confirmed on Friday that the patient, who was not identified, was located, according to the Financial Times.
Health officials warned on Sunday that six people in the UK had been infected with the highly transmissible P.1 strain, but one of them did not provide contact information and could not be located – initiating a frantic search.
As of Wednesday, the search for “Patient X” had been reduced to 379 families in southeastern England, the health secretary said.
Friday’s announcement ends the five-day hunt for man after new research has found that the P.1 variant is twice as infectious as some other strains of COVID-19 – and is able to invade patients’ immune systems that the deadly virus has already been infected.
In the United States, until Friday, at least 13 cases of the variant – believed to have originated in the Amazonian city of Manaus – were registered in seven states, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
However, preliminary data from an Oxford University study suggests that the AstraZeneca vaccine is effective against the P.1 mutation, Reuters reported on Friday.
Brazil currently has the second highest number of COVID-19 deaths after the United States, with about 261,000 victims, according to data from Johns Hopkins University.
Still, President Jair Bolsonaro continually downplayed the severity of the pandemic and scoffed at measures of social detachment – until recently accusing Brazilians of “whining” after two consecutive days of record coronavirus deaths in the country.
“No more agitation and complaints. How much longer will the crying continue? “Bolsonaro asked the crowd at a Thursday event.
“How much longer are you going to stay home and close everything up? Nobody can take it anymore. We regret the deaths, again, but we need a solution. “
Wired Poles