Breaking: Brazil Covid mutation already in the UK
A Brazilian variant of coronavirus has arrived in Britain, one of the UK’s leading scientists announced this morning, as the government unveiled a new research group to study the various Covid mutations.
Speaking during a Science and Media Centre briefing, Professor Wendy Barclay said: “There are two different types of Brazilian variant and one of them has been detected in the UK.”
Barclay, the head of a new research group into coronavirus mutations, said it was probably introduced “some time ago”.
“In the databases, if you search the sequences, you will see that there is some some evidence for variants from around the world, and I believe including the Brazilian one, which probably was introduced some time ago. And that will be being traced very carefully,” she said.
The Science and Media Centre later clarified that the Brazilian variant mentioned by Barclays was not the “variant of concern, that was picked up in travellers going to Japan”.
“Other variants that may have originated from Brazil have been previously found,” they added.
Transport secretary Grant Shapps this morning insisted that Covid-19 vaccines will work against the new Brazilian coronavirus variant but claimed that travel bans are essential precautions.
All travel into the UK from South America and Portugal was banned from 4am this morning as ministers scramble to prevent the new mutation spreading across Britain.
It comes as the government announced a new national research project to study the effects of emerging Covid mutations, with £2.5m of funding from UK Research and Innovation (UKRI).
The G2P Group will identify which variants might cause problems before they become prevalent in the community.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson earlier this week said he was “very concerned” about the new Brazilian strain of coronavirus, but that it was not yet known whether it would disrupt the UK’s vaccination programme.