Vietnam discovers new Covid-19 variant that spreads quickly by air and is a mix of Indian and British strains, says state media citing health minister
"It is an Indian variant with mutations that originally belong to the UK variant," Health Minister Nguyen Thanh Long tells a national meeting on pandemic, adding that the characteristic of this strain is that it spreads quickly in the air.Vietnam has discovered a new Covid-19 variant which spreads quickly by air and is a combination of the Indian and British strains, state media has reported.
"The characteristic of this strain is that it spreads quickly in the air. The concentration of virus in the throat fluid increases rapidly and spreads very strongly to the surrounding environment."The country is struggling to deal with fresh outbreaks across more than half of its territory including industrial zones and big cities such as Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City.
There were seven known coronavirus variants in Vietnam before Long's announcement, according to the Ministry of Health. The new round of infections has made the public and government fearful and authorities quickly moved to place strict limits on movement and business activity.