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Index – Abroad – The most contagious coronavirus variant has emerged so far

Index – Abroad – The most contagious coronavirus variant has emerged so far

In the hardest hit states, the mandatory wearing of face masks has already been reinstated to limit the rapid spread – he writes daily Mail.

UK Health Safety Agency (UKHSA) chiefs have detected 135 cases of the new variant, which evolved from Omicron, which first arrived in Britain in mid-February. It has not yet been discovered in the northeastern region of the country.

Arcturus has caused five deaths so far in Britain.

However, the number of cases – based on genetic observations – has been greatly underestimated, as only a small fraction of the samples have been thoroughly examined to date. Monitoring data shows that the XBB 1.1.16 strain, known scientifically, accounts for approximately 2.3 percent of new cases. According to unofficial data, about 65 thousand Britons are infected every day.

UKHSA officials said the variant, called Arcturus by various online trackers, is among the UK’s “most competitive” Covid strains. Officials at the government health agency expect it to become dominant in the coming weeks.

However, the sample size for XBB.1.16 is very low and results may change as more data becomes available.

– They noticed.

It can override the immune system

Leading experts insist there is no evidence that the strain causes more severe disease than other variants currently circulating. At present, the disease caused by the coronavirus is very similar to influenza, not the same as it was at the beginning of the epidemic.

However, the UKHSA said it was “unclear” whether the variant would lead to another wave in the UK, where the level of immunity is much different from that of India.

Currently, nearly 10,000 cases of Covid-19 are being recorded in India each day. That number has risen to this point compared to 160 at the end of February, when the spread of the variant began to accelerate. According to the data, this accounts for two-thirds of all cases in the country.

Front-line doctors in India say the number of children with conjunctivitis has increased, which suggests that Arcturus may cause different symptoms than other variants.

The strain was first identified in January and has been monitored by the World Health Organization (WHO) since the end of March. It has now been shown in 34 countries, including the United States, Singapore, Australia and Canada.

Other sub-variants of Omicron include Kraken (XBB.1.5) and Orthrus (CH.1.1). Currently, Kraken remains dominant in the UK, accounting for 44 percent of all cases, compared to Omicron’s 8 percent.

Despite fears that the number of cases may soon rise, rates appear to have fallen in the past two weeks.

As of yesterday, around 1.05 million people in the UK have contracted coronavirus, according to health tech company ZOE, which has continued its daily Covid surveillance project in defiance of the government. This is nearly 400,000 down from the 1.49 million reported at the end of March.

Public health no longer monitors mutations

University professor Robert Dingwall, who has advised the government on the virus during the pandemic, told MailOnline that we should not react to every new type of Covid with panic unless there is strong evidence of a weakened immunity to it.

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he added:

We should treat the coronavirus like any other flu-like illness. The influenza virus also changes regularly, but that doesn’t make the front pages of newspapers.

Public health agencies are monitoring changes so that vaccines can be adjusted accordingly. The authorities are no longer following the virus in the same way as before.

Online virus trackers decided to name XBB.1.16 “Arcturus”, following the custom of naming new strains after mythical entities.

Arcturus means “guardian of the bear.” It is a red giant, the brightest star in the Ökörhajcsár constellation and the third brightest star in the night sky. The Greeks named this star that way because Arcturus was considered the guardian of Ursa Major and Ursa Minor, the constellations near the Big Dipper.