South Africa Detects New COVID-19 Variant

Scientists in South Africa say they had detected a new Covid-19 variant with a large number of mutations, blaming it for a surge in infection numbers. <br />The number of daily infections in Africa’s hardest-hit country has increased tenfold since the start of the month. <br />Virologist Tulio de Oliveira says the variant, which goes by the scientific lineage number B.1.1.529, has a very high number of mutations while expressing hope that the World Health Organization will give it a Greek name on Friday. <br />He added that the variant has also been detected in Botswana and Hong Kong among travellers from South Africa. <br />The WHO says it is closely monitoring the reported variant and is expected to convene a technical meeting on Friday to determine if it should be designated a variant of interest or of concern.