China’s National Center for Disease Control and Prevention reports that a variant of the new coronavirus that is spreading rapidly in the United Kingdom has been detected for the first time in China.
After this variant of the virus occurred, countries around the world quickly interrupted travel links to the United Kingdom to stop its spread outward. Scientists say the variant virus is 40-70 percent more infectious than the original virus.
China’s National Center for Disease Control and Prevention said in its weekly publication Wednesday (Dec. 31) that the virus variant was found in a 23-year-old female student who returned to China from the United Kingdom. The girl was tested for the virus in Shanghai on Dec. 14.
The case “poses a huge potential threat” to China’s new coronavirus prevention and control efforts, the article said.
Researchers sequenced the variant on Dec. 24 and found that the virus was the “VUI202012/01” strain that appeared in the United Kingdom. An important characteristic of this strain is its greater ability to spread from person to person.
The Chinese Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced last week that the airline between China and the United Kingdom has been suspended “indefinitely”.
The patient in Shanghai has been transferred to a designated medical facility for isolation. An investigation has been launched into those who had close contact with her.
China’s National health Commission reported Thursday that 25 new cases were reported on Dec. 30, including nine local infections in Beijing, Liaoning and Heilongjiang and 16 cases from outside China.
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