Decoded: Why a new South African Covid-19 variant has got the world worried

The variant, termed B.1.1.529, has as many as 32 spike mutations, and has made its way to countries such as Hong Kong and Israel

A new South African variant of coronavirus has created ripples across the world. While not enough data is available about the strain, government officials are concerned about another outbreak and vaccine evasion, and have sounded alert to all states. We take a look at what we know about the new type so far.

What is this South African variant?

The variant has been termed B.1.1.529 and according to preliminary data it has many mutations across different parts of the virus. Scientists in South Africa have detected over 30 mutations to the spike protein. Spike protein is that part of the