South African mutation of novel coronavirus not exposed in Russia yet — watchdog

MOSCOW, January 25. /TASS/. The South African mutation of the novel coronavirus has not been exposed in Russia so far, the consumer rights watchdog Rospotrebnadzor told TASS on Monday. "Most of the test systems being used in Russia and around the world are capable of effectively identifying different versions of the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2, including the South African and British ones. So far, the South African variety has not been exposed in Russia," the watchdog said in a news release. The watchdog explained that contrary to warnings by some researchers about the risk of repeated infection with the South African strain there have been no publications in reviewed science magazines that might confirm this. "These issues are subject to further research," the watchdog said. Earlier, the portal Medical Xpress said citing the results of preliminary studies that the strain discovered in South Africa was fraught with considerable reinfection risks for those who have already recovered from the disease. The South African authorities on December 21, 2020 said that a new, very aggressive variety of the coronavirus had been identified in the south of the country. The virus marked as 501.V2 triggered a second wave of the pandemic, which peaked in the middle of January. Preliminary research indicates that this variety of the coronavirus is capable of spreading extremely fast. Read more