Coronavirus digest: SA scientists monitor new variant

Scientists in South Africa are monitoring a new coronavirus variant that has been slowly spreading through the country and appears to have a high mutation rate, the country's National Institute for Communicable Diseases said on Monday.

The variant, known as C.1.2 was first identified in May and has not yet spread enough to qualify as a "variant of interest" or a "variant of concern." However, scientists have observed that C.1.2 appears to mutate almost twice as fast as other global variants.

The mutations also appear to be similar to those found in other variants with higher transmissibility and reduced sensitivity to antibodies. Scientists are carrying out tests to determine what effects these mutations have on the virus. 

The variant has been detected in each of South Africa's nine provinces as well as in several other countries including the United Kingdom, New Zealand and China. The new variant made up just 1% of recorded COVID-19 samples in June, growing to 3% in July. At the same time, the Delta variant accounted for 67% and 89% in those months respectively.

"At this stage we do not have experimental data to confirm how it reacts in terms of sensitivity to antibodies," NICD researcher Penny Moore said during a virtual press briefing. 

But "we have considerable confidence that the vaccines that are being rolled out in South Africa will continue to protect us against severe illness and death," she added.

Here are the latest developments on the pandemic from around the world.

Oceania

Australia will receive 500,000 doses of BioNTech-Pfizer's COVID-19 vaccine from Singapore later this week, Prime Minister Scott Morrison announced on Tuesday.

The deal is part of a straight swap arrangement that will see Australia return the favor in the same amount of doses later this year, but will allow the country to accelerate a flagging vaccination program amid a surge in cases.

Also in Australia, Canberra on Tuesday extended its strict lockdown by a further two weeks as the capital city struggles to contain a spread of the highly infectious delta variant.

The extension of Canberra's lockdown is likely to soon be followed by a similar move in the state of Victoria.

Australia's second-most-populous state, which has been in lockdown for five weeks, is continuing to see a rise in infections and State Premier Dan Andrews said too many people remain unvaccinated to significantly ease restrictions.

Nevertheless, Andrews did say that the state would outline on Wednesday a way forward as vaccination numbers rise.

New Zealand on Tuesday saw a drop in cases for the second day in a row, with 49 new infections reported, as the country's lockdown appeared to be reversing a recent trend.

"We want the tail of this outbreak to be as short as possible," Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern told reporters.

Europe

The nationwide seven-day incidence rate in Germany dropped slightly on Tuesday. It is the first time it has fallen in more than a month, and now stands at 74.8 new infections per 100,000 people over a seven-day period.

The Robert Koch Institute for infectious diseases (RKI) recorded 5,750 new cases in the previous 24 hours, bringing the total number of cases since the beginning of the pandemic to 3,942,856.

There were also 60 new coronavirus deaths recorded in Germany, bringing the total death toll to 92,200.

A group of 149 Afghan evacuees, who fled their homeland amid the Taliban takeover, have been met by medical workers upon landing in North Macedonia, and transferred to a hotel near Skopje, where they will be tested for the coronavirus.

Americas

The United States has raised the travel risk alert for several European countries, including Germany, due to the high rate of COVID-19 cases in those counties.

Switzerland, Estonia, North Macedonia and Azerbaijan, as well as Germany, have been listed in the level 4 category, meaning they are among the highest-risk destinations for travelers, according to the latest advisory from the US Centers for Disease Control (CDC).

The Eastern Caribbean island nation of Saint Lucia has also been added to the list.

The largest hospital on the Big Island of Hawaii is now at 120% of capacity, the Hawaii Tribune-Herald reported.

A total of 38 patients are being treated at the Hilo Medical Centre with ten in the intensive care unit. 

As the largest hospital on the island it cannot divert patients elsewhere. Last week, the hospital opened a 16-bed overflow unit for its extended care facility.

Hospitals in the southeastern US state of Louisiana have largely escaped catastrophic damage from Hurricane Ida, but the storm  did create the "perfect petri dish" for spread of COVID, according to officials.

The hurricane struck a state where hospitals are currently crowded with patients suffering from coronavirus, with the delta variant spreading fast and nurses in short supply.

A handful of smaller hospitals have been forced to evacuate patients, but "it doesn't appear to be anything catastrophic," Joseph Kanter, the top medical official in Louisiana, told news agency Reuters.

ab, jsi/dj (AP, AFP, dpa, Reuters)