B.1.1.529 Covid variant ‘most worrying we’ve seen’, says top UK medical adviser

Dr Susan Hopkins says R value of variant first found in Gauteng, South Africa, is now 2Coronavirus – latest updatesSee all our coronavirus coverageThe chief medical adviser to the UK Health and Security Agency has warned thata newly identified Covid-19 variant in southern Africa is the “most worrying we’ve seen”, with transmission levels not recorded since the beginning of the pandemic.Dr Susan Hopkins said the R value, or effective reproduction number, ofthe B.1.1.529 variant in Gauteng in South Africa, where it was first found, was now 2. For an R of anything above 1,an epidemic will grow exponentially.Continue reading...
Source: Guardian Unlimited Science - Category: Science Authors: Tags: Coronavirus South Africa UK news Infectious diseases Medical research World news Science Source Type: news