Filenews 26 March 2021
The latest sequencing results sent by ECDC show the alarmingly increasing trend in the occurrence of the British strain of SARS-CoV-2 virus since December. As it turns out, the British strain has prevailed particularly since mid-February.
More specifically, the analysis of the samples shows that the increase is staggered and reaches up to 95.5%in the period 15 February – 6 March , when the epidemiological picture in Cyprus deteriorates. In detail, the more than double detection of the variant in time is found below:
- December-January: The British mutation was detected in 14.7% (34 samples).
- 1-15 February: The British mutation was detected at 46.6% (34 samples out of a total of 73 sequences).
- 15 February-6 March: The British mutation was detected at 95.5% (85 samples out of a total of 89 sequences).
As has been found from studies carried out in several EU states, the UK and elsewhere, the English strain is 50% more contagious and can therefore contribute to the easier spread of COVID-19disease in the community, also affecting the flow of cases in hospitals.
The increased dispersion caused by the British strain is reflected in the daily positives and the positivity rate, which despite the measures remains high. In addition, there is concern about the occurrence of the variant in younger people, which results in an increase in hospitalizations and in people of younger middle age than observed to date.
All the above elements make it imperative to continuously observe the measures and health protocols in order to stem this phenomenon of the further spread of new strains in the community of Cyprus. Until the objective of vaccination coverage of a significant proportion of our population is achieved, the only way to stem the increased transmission caused by the British mutation of the virus is to implement individual prophylaxis measures and health guidelines, continuous epidemiological surveillance and tracing and finally to monitor measures in different environments (work, social, family, etc.).
Source: eyenews
