Africa Health Knowledge Management Portal
Informing Health Decisions and Actions
Alert Notification: New SARS-CoV-2 variant with multiple spike protein mutations
Response
Emergency response operations
Description
As of 21 December 2020, more than 300 genomes of the 501Y.V2 variant have been identified, all in South Africa. Preliminary analysis in South Africa (501Y.V2) and the UK (501Y) suggests that this variant is significantly more transmissible than previously circulating variants and potentially higher viral load in South Africa.Africa CDC advise Member States and health authorities to: