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A new variant called B.1.1.529 has been detected in South Africa. Since Thursday, November 25, this new strain of Covid-19 has been worrying because it is potentially more contagious. Like Germany and the United Kingdom, France prohibits the arrival of travelers from several countries in southern Africa.
It is in South Africa, the African country most affected by the pandemic, that the new variant B.1.1.529 has just appeared. Less than thirty cases have been officially detected worldwide, but concern is growing. For scientists, it is no coincidence that this variant affects South Africa, where the health system is at the end of its rope.
Very contagious, the new South African variant has not yet crossed European borders, but the Minister of Health, Olivier Véran, affirmed it, it is already under very close surveillance. “It is a variant which presents several mutations (…) quite a few mutations which concern the famous Spike protein which is the key to entry of the virus into the organism”, did he declare. France has just announced the suspension of flights from South Africa.
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