Protect yourself and others from COVID-19

All you wanted to know about the New COVID-19 Strain found in the UK

- Dr. Chalapathy

Just as vaccines started offering hope to curb the COVID-19 pandemic, officials in the UK have sounded alarm bells about what they called a fast-moving new variant of the Sars Cov-2 circulating in Britain. Reports suggest that this variant of Sars CoV2 is extremely contagious (over 70% more infectious). In South Africa, another extraction of coronavirus has gained a particular alteration which is also found in the UK strain.

The news of this mutated version of the virus has once again sparked global anxiety. In India, the Ministry of Civil Aviation has already suspended (temporarily) flights from the UK and has enforced some new restrictions. The new strain should act as a wake-up call for those who thought that the pandemic was over and could stop taking all the necessary precautions like sanitizing, masking and social distancing including avoidance of close contacts, crowded spaces and closed spaces.

Understanding Mutation of the Virus

As part of its natural evolving process, all RNA-based viruses go through many changes in their genetic material. Besides, in such viruses, the mutation is much quicker as the proof-reading mechanism does not exist. This means that when the virus replicates its copies inside human cells, there is no mechanism to detect an error copy, which will possible result in a mutated version.