Should we be worried about Covid variants?

Six countries have been added to the UK'S red list after UK scientists said they are worried about a newvariantofcoronavirus.

The B.1.1.529 variant has first been found in cases in Botswana,southafricaand Hong Kong.

Buthowisthisnewvariant differentfrompreviousversions?

Here are some things worth knowing.

Are there any cases in theuk? Currently,thereare no cases in the UK. People who have recently arrived in the UK from South Africa in the last 10 days will be invited to take a test.

Have any of these countries been put on the red list?yes.flightsfromsouth Africa, Namibia, Lesotho, Botswana, Eswatini and Zimbabwe will be suspended from midday on Friday and all six countries will be added to the red list.

How is it different from the other variants? The virus has been identified as having 30 different mutations. By comparison, that istwiceasmanyasthedelta variant.