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The new SARS-CoV-2 version, B.1.1.7, which was first seen in the third week of September in Kent and Greater London, has since spread to other locations in the UK. According to the COVID-19 Genomics UK Consortium (COG-UK Consortium) that analysed the genome data of the virus and identified the variant, the new variant has been spreading "rapidly" over the last four weeks and has now been detected in other locations in the UK, suggesting further spread of the variant in the region.

According to a preliminary report posted on December 19 by the COG-UK Consortium scientists, as of December 15, 1,623 variant genomes have been sequenced. In a December 21 tweet, COG-UK Consortium said that it added 2,963 more genome sequences of SARS-CoV-2, of which 942 (32%) belong to the new variant. The Consortium intends to sequence 20,000 more SARS-CoV-2 genomes in the next two weeks to further ascertain the spread of the variant.

There is no clear proof, at least not yet, that it does cause severe pandemic. But there is a justification for seriously taking the possibility. Another coronavirus lineage in South Africa has acquired one specific mutation that is also present in B.1.1.7. This variant is increasingly spreading across South Africa's coastal regions. And doctors have observed in preliminary research that individuals infected with this variant bear a higher viral load-a higher concentration of the virus in their upper respiratory tract. In many viral diseases, this is associated with more severe symptoms.