Outbreak of new strain of coronavirus; World Health Organization: Situation is not out of control

The World Health Organization, amid growing concerns about the spread of a new strain of coronavirus in the United Kingdom, announced on Monday, January 1, that the virus can still be controlled.

"The situation is not out of control, but at the same time, it cannot be left to chance," Mike Ryan, the World Health Organization's emergencies director, said at a news conference in Geneva, Switzerland.

He then called on countries around the world to implement tested health measures to contain the virus.

According to estimates from the World Health Organization, those infected with the new coronavirus transmit it to an average of 1.5 people, compared to 1.1 for the previous coronavirus.

But many virologists believe that COVID-19 vaccines are also effective against the new type of coronavirus.

Ugur Sahin, the head of the German company BionTech, which developed the coronavirus vaccine with the American company Pfizer, told the German news agency that the company had tested its vaccine against 20 other types of coronavirus, with the results being successful.

He added that the new type of virus has mutated more powerfully and that testing a vaccine against it will take place in two weeks.

The World Health Organization says there is no evidence that the new strain of coronavirus is more severe or deadly than the previous strain. However, European countries and some other countries around the world, including Iran, Saudi Arabia, Pakistan, Israel, Argentina, Hong Kong and Canada, have banned flights from the UK.

Source: Radio Farda