Earlier, the Daily Mail reported that scientists from the UK had warned of the appearance of a coronavirus strain, which contains 32 mutations, in Botswana. Many of the mutations indicate its high transmissibility and resistance to vaccines, the strain has more changes in the spike protein than all other COVID-19 variants.
The South African National Institute of Infectious Diseases later also confirmed that the new strain had been found in South Africa, with 22 cases to date.
Scientists are worried about the fact that a new COVID variant, dubbed the B.1.1.529 strain, has an “extremely high” number of mutations in the spike protein and potentially may be resistant to antibodies that can fight the virus.