The world is racing to contain the spread of the new COVID-19 variant, Omicron. It is a new variant that was first detected in South Africa.
The virus has seen multiple mutations making it highly contagious.
Earlier the World Health Organization designated it as a variant of concern and many countries are racing to try and contain it by banning flights from southern Africa.
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Here is a brief explainer of what is known so far about Omicron:
The scientists discovered the new variant with a “very unusual constellation of mutations” on November 23 and some of the mutations are already known, and affect transmissibility and immune evasion. However many others are new.
Professor Mosa Moshabela, Deputy Vice Chancellor of Research and Innovation at the University of KwaZulu-Nata said it has the “most mutations we have seen to date”.
“Some of these mutations we have seen before like in Delta and Beta,” but others they have not, and “we don’t know what the combination of those mutations will translate into,” he said.
There were around 50 mutations overall, including 30 on the spike protein, which enables the virus to enter cells.
In South Africa the daily COVID-19 positivity rate rose this week from 3.6 percent on Wednesday, 6.5 percent on Thursday, 9.1 percent on Friday and 9.2 percent on Saturday after the detection of a new virus.
The genetic mutations shown by the virus include those known to enable the virus to evade immunity. (AW)
