WHO: UK- variant of Coronavirus Detected in 41 Countries/Territories

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), the new variant of coronavirus that was found in the UK had been detected in 41 countries.

Key Points

• As per WHO, till January 5, 2021, the new COVID-19 variant of the UK- VOC-202012/01 has been detected in 40 other countries/territories/areas in five out of the six WHO regions.
• However, a small number of cases have been detected.
• It was in December 2020 that the UK announced that a new variant of coronavirus has been detected in the country.
• The country announced that the new variant is 70% more transmissible than the existing variants.
• After the announcement, travel restrictions were imposed on the UK by many nations.
• WHO also pointed out that the 501Y.V2 variant, initially detected in South Africa, has been detected in six other countries.

UK Variant of Coronavirus in India

India also followed a strategy to stop the spread of the new variant of the COVID-19 virus. For this, it suspended the travel from the UK and collected samples of the Indian citizens returning from the UK. India created a network of 10 labs- INSACOG- to detect the virus. 58 cases of the new variant have been detected in the country by far and those people are kept in isolation.

World Health Organisation (WHO)

It is a United Nations agency that monitors international public health. This specialized agency of the United Nations was established in the year 1948. It is headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland. WHO has been playing important role in providing help to countries for fighting against the COVID-19 pandemic. The agency has also started many campaigns to stop the spread of misinformation related to the pandemic.