The South African Minister for Health, Zweli Mkhize, has announced that researchers have identified a new strain of the coronavirus that is spreading faster than the first one and is driving the second wave of infections. It is similar to the new variant of the virus found in Britain.
The minister tweeted,
We have convened this public briefing today to announce that a variant of the SARS-COV-2 Virus – currently termed 501.V2 Variant – has been identified by our genomics scientists here in South Africa. The evidence that has been collated, therefore, strongly suggests that the current second wave we are experiencing is being driven by this new variant.
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A team led by the Kwazulu-Natal Research Innovation and Sequencing Platform (KRISP) had sequenced hundreds of virus samples since the COVID-19 pandemic started and “noticed that a particular variant has increasingly dominated the findings of the samples collected in the past two months”.
The doctors believe that most of the patients are young and do not have any other conditions that intensify the virus but are still suffering from more severe forms of COVID-19.
This “strongly suggests that the second wave we are experiencing is being driven by this new variant,” said Mkhize.
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The World Health Organization (WHO) has been in contact with the South African researchers who identified the new strain.
WHO epidemiologist, Maria Van Kerkhove, said,
We are working with them with our SARS-COV-2 Virus evolution working group. They are growing the virus in the country and they’re working with researchers to determine any changes in the behavior of the virus itself in terms of transmission.
South Africa has reported the highest number of COVID-19 cases in Africa, reaching 900,000 with over 20,000 fatalities. The government has tightened the restrictions in the country with the resurgence of new cases.
