The first case of a new “South African” strain of coronavirus, discovered in mid-December in South Africa, was identified in Japan. This was reported by RIA Novosti citing local television.
A 30-year-old woman who arrived from South Africa on December 19 tested positive for the coronavirus. Research at the National Research Institute of Infectious Diseases has shown that this is a mutated virus that has spread in South Africa.
It also became known that in Japan, six people were diagnosed with a “British” strain of coronavirus. There are 15 cases of new strains of coronavirus in the country.
A new mutation of the coronavirus was discovered in South Africa in mid-December. South African scientists have identified a previously unknown SARS-CoV-2 virus called 501.V2. The Minister of Health of South Africa stressed that the second wave of coronavirus in the country is probably associated with this particular mutation of the disease.
Also in December, a dangerous mutation of the coronavirus was discovered in the UK. To date, about a thousand cases of infection with the new strain have been identified. The mutation has also been identified in patients in South Korea, Canada, France and Spain. Including the virus reached Belgium, Denmark, the Netherlands, Australia and South Africa. The British Advisory Board on New and Emerging Respiratory Virus Threats said this variant of the coronavirus is spreading faster.