The coronavirus pandemic has shaken the world by storm since it was first discovered in China’s Wuhan in 2019. It’s been over 2 years and the Covid-19 pandemic doesn’t seem to end anytime soon. From Alpha, Beta, Delta, and Omicron, a multitude of Covid-19 variants have emerged in the world, causing chaos in everyone’s lives.

Now, when the world is trying to cope with the Omicron variant, another new strain has been discovered in South Africa known as NeoCov associated with the MERS-CoV virus. As compared to Omicron which tends to have a higher transmissibility rate and lower death rate, NeoCov is stated to have a high death and transmission rate.

NeoCov was first detected in the bat population in South Africa which was only been known to spread among these animals but the latest study suggests that NeoCoV and its close relative PDF-2180-CoV can infect humans.

According to Chinese experts, NeoCoV has the potential to merge the high mortality rate of MERS-high CoV (one out of every three infected people dies) with the rapid transmission rate of the existing SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus.

The NeoCov virus, however, is not a new one, according to the report. It was detected in outbreaks in Middle Eastern nations in 2012 and 2015 and is identical to the SARS-CoV-2 virus, which causes coronavirus in humans.

Only one mutation is required for the virus to penetrate human cells, according to researchers from Wuhan University and the Chinese Academy of Sciences’ Institute of Biophysics. The novel coronavirus poses a threat, according to the findings, because it interacts with the ACE2 receptor differently than the coronavirus pathogen. As a result, neither antibodies nor protein molecules produced by patients with respiratory disorders or those who have been immunised against NeoCoV can protect them.

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After giving the green flag to resumption of partial flights from the United Kingdom, the government of India on Sunday has issued Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) for all passengers who will be coming to India from UK between January  8 to January 30, will have to carry their Covid-19 negative reports on arrival. India has made negative Covid-19 test reports mandatory for all the passengers from the UK.

The government stated in the SOPs that all airlines will have to make sure that passengers who are boarding the flights will have to carry their coronavirus negative test report with them before boarding flights.

All passengers arriving from the UK will have to take self-paid RT-PCR tests on their arrival at the airports, the passengers who will test negative for Covid-19 would be advised to go on self-isolation/quarantine at the homes for 14 days, the government stated in the SOPs.

All passengers, who are coming from the UK during this period, would be required to submit a self-declaration form on the online portal (newdelhiairport.in) at least 72 hours before travel. The Central government has also provided the states and union territories help-desks at airports to facilitate the implementation of the procedure.

Aviation Minister Hardeep Singh Puri on Friday said only 30 flights per week will operate between India and the UK when services resume from January 8.

Earlier, India had suspended all flights to and from the United Kingdom from December 23 to 31 to stop the spread of the new mutant variant in the country, which is said to be more contagious.

Also Read: All states and union territories to conduct Covid-19 vaccine dry run today

Initially, the Indian government said operation of the flights will be restricted, the government will allow only 15 flights per week till January 23.

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Amid concerns over a new coronavirus strain that emerged in the United Kingdom, another mutated strain of Covid-19, which is potentially more infectious has been found in Britain in some cases linked to South Africa, said British Secretary Matt Hancock on Wednesday.

Hancock said two cases of another new variant of coronavirus have been discovered in the UK, both are the contacts of cases who have travelled from South Africa. He attributed the detection to the impressive genomic capability of the South Africans. 

The newly identified variant is highly concerning as it is even more transmissible, and appeared to have mutated further than the new variant, said Hancock at a media briefing. In wake of the new strain, the authorities have imposed fresh sets of restrictions across the country and further studies are being conducted to know more about the strain.

The British secretary said those who have been in close contact with the new variant and those who have travelled South Africa over the last 15 days should be quarantined.The UK government has also put a South Africa travel ban, following the identification of new fast-spreading coronavirus variants.

The latest development came when Britain was trying to curb the spread of the mutated strain of the virus which claimed to be 70 per cent more transmissible than SARS-CoV-2. Last week, South Africa’s health department had discovered the new genetic mutation of the virus and reported that it might be responsible for a recent surge in Covid-19 cases in the country.They named the variant as 501.V2.

Also Read: 22 on UK-India flights test positive for Covid-19, samples sent for advance testing

Meanwhile, the United Kingdom is one of the hardest hit countries in Europe with more than 68,000 deaths from the virus. Several countries around the world have closed their borders to both Britain and South Africa amid the fear over new coronavirus strain. India, however, has not taken any decision on banning flights from South Africa. 

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Karnataka Chief Minister B.S. Yediyurappa on Wednesday announced a night curfew in the state starting December 23 to January 2. The night curfew will remain between 10 pm and 6 am and will end at 6 am on January 2. He said the decision to impose night curfew has been taken in the view of the new Covid-19 strain recently found in UK after consulting with Health Minister K. Sudhakar, members of the state Technical Advisory Committee (TAC) for Covid-19 and other senior officials.

The Guidelines for the night curfew will be released this evening.

Addressing media, state’s Health Minister Doctor K. Sudhakar said the night curfew has been imposed to prevent the spread of the new strain spreading in the United Kingdom. He also said between December 23 and January 2, no function or festive celebration is allowed to take place after 10 pm. Initially, the government had said that bars and pubs would be allowed to celebrate New Year but with 50% attendance.

Ahead of the Christmas and New Year celebrations, the state government has declared night curfew in the state as a precautionary step amid growing concerns over a new coronavirus variant spreading in Britain.

All international passengers coming to the state will have to carry a negative Covid-19 test report. Yediyurappa said those who are coming to the state from foreign countries must have Covid-19 certificate and the test should have been done only 72 hours before. All arrangements have been done at the airport to conduct tests and the health staffs have been deployed there. Yediyurappa ordered the health and police officials to make sure that no one has entered the city without getting tested.

Also Read: Oxford-AstraZeneca vaccine might get emergency use authorization by next week in India

On reopening schools and colleges, he said that the government had decided to reopen the schools from January 1 and that plan is on track but will be subject to developments in the next three days. As of now, schools will reopen on January 1, he said.

Yediyurappa requested citizens to take precautionary measures to prevent and contain and the new Covid-19 strain.

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The Tamil Nadu government has banned the New year celebrations at beaches, hotels, resorts and pubs as part of a preventive measure to combat the spread of coronavirus. The resorts, hotels and restaurants, however, can function on the New Year’s eve but cannot host any celebrations, according to the state government orders.

People have been prohibited to gather and indulge in revelries on two days i.e on December 31 and January 1. However, the regular functioning of hotels, restaurants, clubs and resorts will continue with the current standard operating procedures, said the AIADMK government. The celebrations on roads have also been prohibited in the light of Covid-19 scare.

In the backdrop of a fresh wave of infections in foreign countries, the Covid-19 preventive norms have been intensified, said the official statement. The midnight celebration would also not be allowed on beaches, restaurants, hotels, clubs, resorts, and similar places on New Year’s Eve and the following day. The government also urged its  people to cooperate in containing the spread of the novel coronavirus spread.

The decision came after the state witnessed the surge in number of Covid-19 cases over the weekend. Otherwise, the government was slowly relaxing the restrictions after eight months of stringent lockdown in the state. Tamil Nadu registered 1,114 new cases and 15 deaths over the weekend. The state presently has 8,08,000 Covid-19 cases in total.

Earlier, the Maharashtra government on Monday ordered night curfew from 11 pm to 6 am in major cities across the state from December 22 to January 5 as part of precautionary measures amid fears over a new coronavirus strain reported in the United Kingdom. 

The announcement came after India banned flights from the UK on Monday. The government suspended the  flights from the UK from December 22 midnight till December 31. The new strain of coronavirus is reportedly up to 70% more infectious. Much is unknown about the strain, but experts say current vaccines should still be effective against it.

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