The coronavirus variant in the UK has been detected in at least 60 countries, the World Health Organization said, 10 more than a week ago.
With the global death toll now well over two million and new variants of the virus, countries around the world are tackling how to slow down infections until vaccines become available everywhere.
The South African variant, which like the one in the UK is believed to be more contagious, has now been reported in 23 countries and territories, the WHO announced in its weekly update.
Mass vaccination campaigns in the US and Europe brought hope that the end of the pandemic was on the horizon. The European Union said on Tuesday it was aiming to vaccinate 70% of the adult population before the end of August.
A new variant of the coronavirus was identified in Brazil, raising questions about whether it could cause more serious illness or be immune to current vaccines. Experts discovered that the new variant has been circulating since December 2020, in Manaus, in the north of Brazil. The data also suggest that the Brazilian variant has also been discovered in Japan. Like the South African variant, the Brazilian one carries a mutation called E484K. This mutation, according to studies, reduces the recognition of antibodies, helping the virus bypass the immune protection provided by the previous infection or vaccination.
At present, it is believed that these variants of the coronavirus are more contagious, but there is no evidence that they cause more severe symptoms.
Sources: Agence France-Presse
