The CoV variant B.1.1.7, which first appeared in Great Britain, has now been detected in 94 countries, according to the World Health Organization (WHO). The organization announced this yesterday evening in Geneva.
The variant B.1.351 discovered in South Africa has already spread to 46 countries, while the mutation P.1, which was initially discovered in Brazil and Japan, has 21 countries.
No all-clear despite the decline in new infections
It can be assumed, however, that variants have continued to spread unnoticed, since not every infection is discovered and registered accordingly. In view of the increasing spread of these virus variants, the simultaneous decline in the total number of new infections offers little cause for the all-clear.
According to WHO data, 2.7 million additional infections were detected worldwide in the past week. That was around 500,000 cases or 16 percent less than the week before, it said.
The steady decline in new infections from the previous high of almost five million cases in the first full week of January continues. According to the WHO, the number of deaths fell by ten percent to 81,000 additional deaths related to infection.
