Coronavirus Variants From the U.K. and South Africa Are More Contagious and Possibly More Deadly

It is time for us to rethink the use of facemasks

A new Coronavirus variant labeled B.1.1.7 was first detected in Britain in October 2020 in two samples collected in Kent and London. Coronaviruses, like other viruses, constantly mutate. Unlike another respiratory virus, the influenza virus, the virus that causes COVID-19 (SARS-CoV-2), mutates less frequently. When enough mutations occur in the virus to change a minor portion of its genetic code, a variant emerges. This variant was later associated with rapidly rising case numbers in south-east England. Scientists considered the new variant to be 50 to 70 percent more infectious than the original. Other more contagious variants have since been identified in South Africa and Brazil.

Wall Street Journal quotes U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson, who said at a press conference that “the variant first identified in London and the southeast — may be associated with a higher degree of mortality.” The underlying evidence…