New strain of COVID could be responsible for a third of Norfolk cases
A researcher at the Quadram Institute has given us the lowdown on the science
Researchers at the Quadram Institute, in Norwich, have been examining the genetics of the new strain, and say up to 36% of all cases in the county could actually be the new strain.
The new variant of Covid-19 - thought to be more up to 70% more infectious - is also believed to have been responsible for an outbreak in Wymondham last month.
Dr Justin O'Grady, group leader, explained that the virus mutates at a rate of around two times a month, meaning there's been 24 mutations since it was first discovered in China last year.
He said:
"Some of these mutations are allowing the virus to bind better to our cells and get into our cells easier, which means it's more tranmissable. And then there's a mutation or deletion that seems to allow the virus to better evade the immune system.
"The epidemiology shows us now it is behaving differently, so now when we look back at our data, we see that we saw our first cases in Wymondham and that spread rather rapidly.
"In late November, we had about 20% of our cases from this lineage and now around 36% of the cases are this lineage."
The new strain has led to tighter restrictions across the South and East of England and the introduction of a new Tier 4, which is similar to the previous lockdowns.
It has also caused the government to go back on plans to allow up to three households to mix for over the Christmas period, with the rules now being relaxed on Christmas Day only.
"We don't want to be in situation where doctors have to make a decision on who lives and who dies.
But despite the concerns around the new strain, researchers have said that while it is believed to be more infectious, there is no evidence it can cause a more serious illness or will be resistant to the new vaccine.
Dr O'Grady has appealed to the public to be sensible and continue to follow government rules, in hopes of protecting the NHS:
"Please protect the NHS.
"What will happen is hospitals will be overloaded with people who need treatment and then horrible decisions have to be made when there's not enough beds for all the people who need them.
"We don't want to be in situation where doctors have to make a decision on who lives and who dies.
"So we all need to take it very seriously and don't be overly concerned as it won't affect most of us any more than the previous strain, but people who are more vulnerable will be, so we need to protect them."