Alarm in Athens. Strains of the coronavirus mutated in the UK have been detected in travelers to Greece, media report on Sunday evening. It is also the same strain located in Cyprus over the weekend, they add.
According to media, the mutated strain VOC 202021/01 was detected in travelers who returned to Greece.
The travelers are in quarantine in a hotel, news website news247 noted.without making reference about the number of travelers or the country/countries they came from.
According to information obtained from Skai TV, the mutated strain was detected in four travelers out of six from the United Kingdom who were tested positive. They arrived in Greece over the Christmas days last week and were tested positive to Covid-19 after Rapid testing was carried out upon their arrival.
“Special molecular testing and analysis that lasted at least 3 days, showed that 4 of them carry the mutation of the virus,” Skai noted.
it stressed that they are guarded in a quarantine hotel.
Citing competent sources, Skai reported that “in ten days when their quarantine expires, they will undergo a new test in order to be decided whether they will be released from quarantine or not.”
“All passengers on the same flight are under epidemiological surveillance without any worrying developments at the moment,” the network noted.
The VOC 202012/01 strain has been located in several countries, mainly due to the traveling during the Christmas and New Year holidays and this has caused even more concern in the scientific community.
An unknown number of Greek students in UK returned home over the holidays; like other travelers from UK, they all had to show a negative PCR test and undergo Rapid test upon arrival..
Assistant Professor and member of the Health Ministry’s committee of Experts Gkikas Majiorkinis had recently said at a live briefing “there are analyzes confirming that this new strain is no more pathogenic and that the chances of re-infection do not increase, in the sense that if we have been infected with the previous type of virus in the past, we do not have an increased chance of being infected with the new type of virus.”
According to initial estimates, the new strain code-named “SARS-CoV-2 VUI 202012/01” appears to have an increase in R0 of at least 0.4 and an increased transmissibility of 70%. However, there is no evidence that the new strain is associated with a more serious form of the disease.
The companies that make the new vaccines that have been approved, have announced that their vaccines will be effective against the new mutation, which remains under study by the scientific community.
Scientists suggest that the mutated variant could more easily infect children.
The presence of the mutated virus in Greece comes as the government announced that the schools will open again on January 11, after two months of closure due to lockdown.
Here we go!!! How is it possible for those with a negative PCR Test to bring the virus over to Greece? And lots of parts in UK were already under Tier4, how could they travel over the holidays??? Why are still flights from UK to Greece?????? Keep them out otherwise we will never get back to a normal life!!!! UK’s cases are out of control and they still can enter our country! Keep the borders closed for them!!!!!!
Für einen PCR Test wird 2-3 Tage vor der Reise das Blut entnommen. Bis zum Abflug kannman noch mit vielen Menschen Kontakt haben und Viren sammeln, die dann erst Tage später nachweisbar sind.