New Covid variant likely to cause more deaths: study

Dec 25, 2020 06:42 IST

The new mutation of coronavirus that's been spreading in the UK appears to be more contagious and will likely lead to higher levels of hospitalizations and deaths next year, a new study has shown. The variant is 56% more transmissible than other strains, according to the study by London-based Centre for Mathematical Modelling of Infectious Diseases, Bloomberg has reported. There's no clear evidence that it results in more or less severe disease. The new Covid strain has led to concerns over the effectiveness of the vaccines that have just started rolling out. Countries including Australia, Denmark and Singapore have also discovered the strain.