JOHANNESBURG–Scientists in South Africa said Thursday they had detected a new COVID-19 variant with a large number of mutations, blaming it for a surge in infection numbers. The variant has also been detected in Botswana and Hong Kong among travellers from South Africa, de Oliveira added. South Africa has the highest pandemic numbers in Africa with around 2.95 million cases, of which 89,657 have been fatal. Neutralizing the variant is “complicated by the number of mutations this variant” contains, said one of the South African scientists Penny Moore. The Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention said it will soon meet South African experts to discuss the variant.

Source: Philippine Daily Inquirer November 26, 2021 05:11 UTC