Discovered in the county of Bristol in the southwest of England, the new strain of coronavirus is classified as a “worrying” mutation. This is stated in the report of the Advisory Group on Threats of New Respiratory Viruses at the UK Department of Health.
According to the department, the new strain differs from the Kent variant of the coronavirus previously identified in the south-east of England by the mutation E484K in the spike protein, which is also observed in the Brazilian and South African varieties of the virus.
Experts also reported the identification of another strain in Liverpool, which has been classified as a “study option”. In total, 76 cases of infection with Bristol and Liverpool strains were detected in the country. The Public Health Service of England (PHE) said there is “a high degree of confidence that coronavirus vaccines will protect against these options,” TASS reports.
Doctors added that there are now four mutations of the coronavirus in the country that are categorized as “of concern.” In addition to the aforementioned Kent and Bristol variants, they include the strains first discovered in South Africa and Brazil.
In mid-December 2020, the UK announced the discovery of a new SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus strain.
On February 2, a new mutation of the British strain COVID-19 was discovered in the country, which occurs in the South African and Brazilian variants.
In addition, on February 1, 11 cases of the South African strain of COVID-19 were recorded in England in people who did not visit South Africa and did not contact tourists who visited the republic.