Covid Fearmongering by British Govt Reaches All-time High!

DEADLY SPREAD: New Covid strain is 70 per cent more contagious as experts fear South East outbreak is racing out of control

Harry Cole
The SUN

THE new Covid-19 variant that has ripped through the South East is 70 per cent more contagious than the original strain, Boris Johnson revealed today.

The PM today revealed the “frighteningly transmissable” new variant was spreading rapidly – forcing him to put millions of Brits in Tier 4 lockdown for Christmas.

Shoppers out in Kent - where the new variant of Covid-19 is said to have come from

Shoppers out in Kent – where the new variant of Covid-19 is said to have come fromCredit: PA:Press Association

Boris today said that the new strain meant that the R rate could be increased by 0.4 as he revealed the festive season was cancelled.

Speaking at a press conference today, the PM said the strain was “spreading very fast”.

He said: “There’s still much we don’t know but it is spreading more quickly.

“There is no evidence however to suggest that it’s more lethal or causes more severe illness.

“Equally, there is no evidence to suggest the vaccine will be any less effective.”

Professor Chris Whitty, chief medical officer for England, today said the UK has informed the World Health Organisation that the new variant coronavirus can spread more rapidly.

He said: “There is no current evidence to suggest the new strain causes a higher mortality rate or that it affects vaccines and treatments, although urgent work is under way to confirm this.

“Given this latest development, it is now more vital than ever that the public continue to take action in their area to reduce transmission.”

A Health source said: “The last 48 hours have changed everything.”

It is also feared to have first emerged in London and the South East as early as September, Chief Scientific Officer Sir Patrick Vallance said at today’s Downing Street briefing.

The strain – called VUI202012/01 – has caused cases to double in a week in the capital as it buckles under the new variant.

The weekly average case rate is also up 66 per cent in two weeks for the rest of the country as the mutant strain tears through Covid hotspots.

Data from the ONS shows that the new variant accounted for 62 per cent of all cases in London on the week commencing December 9, double the 28 per cent reported on the week commencing November 18.

Government graphs show the new strain now makes up nearly two thirds of all cases in London

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Government graphs show the new strain now makes up nearly two thirds of all cases in London

Professor Sir Mark Walport – a member of the Government’s Scientific Advisory Group on Emergencies (Sage) – said there was a real possibility that the new variant could have a “transmission advantage”.

He told BBC2’s Newsnight: “What happens with viruses is they do naturally mutate all the time and the ones that are likely to do well are the ones that increase transmission.”

“We know that this is a new variant, it has been seen in other countries but it seems to be quite widespread which suggests that it has got a transmission advantage.

“Scientists are working extremely hard to work out what is going on. But it does definitely seem possible that this transmits more easily.

“It will make the social-distancing even more critical.”

The Sun understands new evidence shows a dramatic hike in positive cases in London over the last week.

The new strain is being blamed for a sudden uptick in hospitalisations in the Capital.

And there are fears that people are catching it despite wearing PPE and socially distancing, pointing again to a surge in the virus’s ability to spread.

Continue reading at:
https://www.thesun.co.uk/news/13521261/new-covid-strain-mutant-south-east/

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