one of the main reasons for the decision
to push millions more into tier 4 in
england
is the rate of new infections with fears
that this is being driven
by the new variant of the virus but this
afternoon the health secretary revealed
that two cases of yet another variant
have been detected in the uk
this one was first discovered in south
africa tonight the government said it
was temporarily stopping flights
from there from 9am tomorrow our health
correspondent sophie hutchinson reports
south africa where another new variant
of coronavirus is causing alarm
scientists say initial evidence suggests
it's more infectious than
other versions of the virus and doctors
are reporting more young people who are
seriously ill
this new variant is highly concerning
because it is yet more transmissible
and it appears to have mutated further
than the new variant that's been
discovered in the uk
the two people found in the uk with this
variant
are being quarantined along with close
contacts the government's brought in
immediate travel restrictions with south
africa
and says anyone who's been there in the
past two weeks
must self-isolate along with their close
contacts
and all of this on top of the new
variant believed to have originated in
the uk
today the government released these
graphs showing its
rapid growth in different parts of
england the dark lines are the new
variant
the lighter lines are the pre-existing
strains
and mps were told today the uk variant
believed to have emerged in
kent has probably spread further the
fact they picked up ten
cases in with sequencing of this this
new variant
in a country small denmark with a
relatively low infection rate
would suggest almost certain in my my
view that this virus
has been introduced into the great
majority if not all
of european countries at the current
time whenever viruses mutate into new
strains like the one that spreads so
fast here in london
there's inevitably concern about whether
vaccines will still
work the developers behind the
coronavirus vaccines
are now checking that but scientists are
confident
that vaccines will be able to adapt
one of the beauties really of this novel
technology is its simplicity
and in theory it's its um adaptability
agility to respond
the developers of the pfizer biontech
vaccine which is being used by the nhs
believe it will still be effective
reassuring those
who were relying on it as a way out of
this pandemic
sophie hutchinson bbc news