UK Variant of COVID-19 May Be More Deadly, Boris Johnson Warns

The probability of transmission of the British variant is 30 to 70%, and would be the cause of the severity of the second wave of the new coronavirus that is currently mourning the United Kingdom. For Boris Johnson, "there also now appears to be some evidence that the new variant, first identified in London and the South East, may be associated with a higher degree of mortality" and affecting the elderly more.

However, notes Patrick Vallance, the government’s scientific adviser, "there is a lot of uncertainty around these figures, but there is a concern that there may have been an increase in mortality as well as an increase in transmissibility." Furthermore, other variants, including one identified in South Africa, are causing concern within the international community. "They have some characteristics that make them less sensitive to vaccines" and are "more worrying" than the British variant, Mr. Vallance stressed.

For the third time, the United Kingdom, the country most affected with 96,000 dead and more than 1,401 dead in the last 24 hours, has just re-confined itself. With the vaccination campaign launched, 5.4 million people have already received the first dose of the vaccine, including 400,000 in the last 24 hours. Despite the drop in cases of contamination with the new confinement, hospitals are still under pressure, with 38,562 Covid-19 patients hospitalized.

In order to better raise awareness among the population, the government has launched a campaign that will be supported by an advertisement that will be broadcast on television, radio and social networks, asking the population to stay at home, to curb the spread. In addition, the government has tightened sanctions against violators of the lockdown.