Photographer: BSIP / Universal Images Group / Getty Images
Photographer: BSIP / Universal Images Group / Getty Images
The South African government dismissed claims that a new variant of coronavirus found in the country contributed to a second wave of infections in the UK and criticized its decision to impose travel restrictions.
A new variant of the virus detected in the UK has a mutation that occurs in a common location with the South African strain, known as 501.V2, but are “two completely independent strains,” said Health Minister Zweli Mkhize in communicated on Thursday. . There is no evidence that 501.V2 causes more serious illness or increased mortality than any other sequenced variant worldwide, he said.
Mkhize’s comments came a day after UK Health Secretary Matt Hancock announced that flights from South Africa will be banned and that anyone who has been there in the past two weeks should be quarantined immediately. Several other countries have also stopped flights from South Africa.
The new strain in the UK was identified about a month before the South African variant appeared to develop, said Mkhize, citing ongoing research by the Genomic Surveillance Network in South Africa, launched in June. He described Hancock’s ad as “unhappy”.
“It is a widely shared view of the scientific community that, given the current circumstantial evidence, the risks of travel bans can outweigh the benefits and that it is possible to contain variants while supporting international travel,” said Mkhize. “Therefore, we maintain that non-pharmaceutical interventions and strict containment measures remain the most important in reducing the risk of transmission.”
Coronavirus infections in South Africa have increased since the government eased most restrictions several months ago, and a second wave is now coinciding with summer vacation. The Ministry of Health recorded a record 14,305 new cases on Thursday, bringing the cumulative total to 968,563.
Experts in South Africa lead the field of genomic surveillance alongside institutions in Australia, Denmark, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom, and shared all information about the evolution of coronavirus with the World Health Organization, said Mkhize.