New strain of Corona Virus
This electron microscope image made available and color-enhanced by the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases Integrated Research Facility in Fort Detrick, Md., shows Novel Coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 virus particles, orange, isolated from a patient. University of Hong Kong scientists claim to have the first evidence of someone being reinfected with the virus that causes COVID-19. They said Monday, Aug. 24, 2020 that genetic tests show a 33-year-old man returning to Hong Kong from a trip to Spain in mid-August had a different strain of the coronavirus than the one he’d previously been infected with in March. (NIAID/National Institutes of Health via AP)
February 2, 2021
Recently a new strand of the corona virus has been detected. Not just in Europe but also in Canada, Japan, Australia, and Africa. This strand is spreading among younger age groups unlike previous strands. This new strand was firstly detected in the United Kingdom and then more recently it has started spreading around the world. The Canadian couple had no travel history and somehow ended up catching the virus and Ohio researchers have identified two new strains likely originating in the U.S.
Hours before the first vaccine got over to Europe the new strain appeared, and they closed the UK border for forty eight hours, which caused drivers to be stranded for days over the festive period. Some of the UK travelers are held at the Germany airports until further notice. More than twenty five million infections have been recorded in Europe, according to the AFP tally on Friday. The British prime minister announced that this new virus is spreading seventy percent more than the other virus and it has only been a couple days since it has come out.
Over the weekend they found the virus in South Africa and put travel bans up, but the mutation is different from the variant in Europe. Could we have a third new strand? Researchers are working hard to try and figure out if the first covid 19 vaccine will even work on the new one. More than thirty five million vaccine shots have been given and the start of a new comeback is well on its way.