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With France joining Denmark, The Netherlands, Germany, Italy, Singapore, Hong Kong, and Japan (among others) in announcing detection of the recently announced UK Covid variant, it is becoming increasingly obvious that this new variant virus is already well into its 2020 world tour.
On Tuesday, in CDC: Implications of the Emerging SARS-CoV-2 Variant VUI 202012/01, the CDC suggested that it was possible the UK variant was already in the United States, when they announced Negative COVID-19 Tests Required from Air Travelers from the UK Starting Dec 28th.
While the alarm went up last week that this new variant is potentially 50%-70% more transmissible than the older strain, there is still much we don't know about this variant. And we know even less about the South African and Nigerian variants that have been reported in the past few days.
Nevertheless, many countries have already put measures in place in an attempt to reduce its entry from the UK and/or South Africa (see Canada, India & Italy Join Growing List Of Countries Banning Travel To/From The UK).
News is noticeably lacking on this quiet morning-after-Christmas, but France's Ministry of Health posted the following statement describing their first positive case - additional cases under investigation - and their plans to test people coming from the UK and South Africa.
(translation)First detection of a case of contamination with the VOC 202012/01 variant of SARS-CoV-2
published on 12.26.20
The French health authorities confirm the detection today, December 25, 2020, on the national territory, of a first contamination with the VOC 202012/01 variant of the Covid19 virus, a variant currently very present in the south-east of England.
This first case was detected in Tours. He is a man of French nationality residing in England. Arrived from London on December 19, he was taken care of at the CHU on the 21 and detected positive. As the test result suggests the variant circulating in the UK, sequencing has been requested from the National Respiratory Infection Viruses Reference Center, which has so far confirmed infection with the VOC variant 202012/01. The person, asymptomatic for Covid19, is currently isolated at his home and is doing well.
The health authorities proceeded to contact-tracing of the health professionals who took care of the patient and to the search of his contact persons at risk, to proceed to their strict isolation.
A system for detecting and monitoring possible cases of infection or carriage of the VOC 202012/01 variant has been set up by Public Health France and the National Reference Centers, in conjunction with the analysis laboratories. The laboratories send to the CNR for sequencing any positive PCR test results for a person returning from the United Kingdom or having been in close contact with a person returning from the United Kingdom or any PCR test result that may suggest the variant virus.
The same procedure has been put in place for people returning from South Africa, where another variant of SARS-CoV-2 is currently circulating actively.
To date, several positive samples that may suggest the VOC 202012/01 variant are being sequenced by the CNR laboratories.
Confirmed cases of the 202012/01 VOC variant have been reported in several European countries in addition to the UK.
The health authorities are mobilized to identify each infected patient as early as possible in order to isolate them, isolate their contact persons and test them, and thus prevent the spread of SARS-CoV-2 variants on the national territory. The authorities recall the importance of immediate respect for the isolation of any person with suggestive symptoms, a confirmed case of Covid19 and any contact person of a confirmed case.
Protective measures have been taken to limit the introduction of new variants on the national territory. A sensitive and recent test with a negative result is mandatory for anyone going to our country from Great Britain.
DOCXFirst detection of a case of contamination with the VOC variant 202012/01 of (...) Download (32.7 kb)
We estimate that VOC 202012/01 is 56% more transmissible (95% credible interval across three regions 50-74%) than preexisting variants of SARS-CoV-2. We were unable to find clear evidence that VOC 202012/01 results in greater or lesser severity of disease than preexisting variants.
Regardless of their impact, these recent variants will likely be followed by many more over the months and years to come. Most will be relatively neutral in their effect on the virus, while some may even help attenuate it.
Not all variants are bad news.
But a more aggressive variant, or one that evades our current vaccines, is always possible. And so we must approach each one with a high degree of suspicion until proven otherwise.
