The South African variant of the coronavirus has been detected in Norway, the National Institute of Public Health (FHI) announced.
Four new cases of the British variant have also been identified.
The virus variant from South Africa was detected in one traveler who came to Norway from South Africa.
“The variant from South Africa and the English virus variant appear to be more contagious than the common coronavirus, but they do not appear to increase the risk of a serious disease course – based on what we currently know.
“These variants have been detected in several European countries, and there is reason to believe that the variants can also be found in countries where the genome of the virus is not examined, and where – therefore – no mutations can be detected.
“When more countries start with such examinations, we will gain a better insight into the prevalence of this variant,” department director Line Vold at the FHI explained.
Caution advised
Vold emphasized that there is reason to be cautious but added that it is still not know how important these virus variants are in the spread of infection.
As of January 4, a total of 23 cases of the British variant have been detected.
© NTB Scanpix / #Norway Today
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