"UK Variant COVID-19 Has 56% Higher Infectivity... Increased Risk of Medical System Collapse"

Urgent Need to Increase Vaccinations and Tighten Lockdown Measures
Confirmed in Australia, Denmark, Singapore, and Others

[Asia Economy Reporter Naju-seok] A study has found that the transmissibility of the variant novel coronavirus infection (COVID-19) confirmed in the United Kingdom is 56% higher. Although this is lower than the UK government's initial announcement, concerns remain that it could still lead to a rapid increase in confirmed cases, healthcare system collapse, and a rise in deaths.

On the 24th (local time), Bloomberg News cited research from the Centre for Infectious Disease Epidemiology and Modelling at the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine, which showed that the transmissibility of the variant COVID-19 is significantly higher than that of the original COVID-19.

Initially, the UK government explained that the variant COVID-19 virus is 70% more transmissible than the original COVID-19, but the researchers announced a slightly lower figure of 56% higher. Until now, there had been calls within the academic community for analysis beyond the government's explanation. This study reconfirmed that the UK government's warning about the risks of the variant COVID-19 is not an exaggeration but a realistic threat.

However, there is no evidence that the variant COVID-19 has a higher fatality rate than the original COVID-19.

Even if the fatality rate is not higher, concerns are growing because an increase in confirmed cases could overwhelm medical facilities, leading to patients dying without receiving treatment.

London, England [Photo by AP Yonhap News]

Greater concerns have also been raised that the effectiveness of diagnostic tests, treatments, and vaccines accumulated over the past several months in humanity's fight against COVID-19 could deteriorate. However, European health authorities have stated that the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine can prevent the variant COVID-19.

The variant COVID-19 virus confirmed in the UK has already been detected in Australia, Denmark, Singapore, and other countries. Although countries have responded by suspending flights to and from the UK, there is growing concern about the possibility of global spread.

The researchers indicated that stronger lockdown measures are necessary to stop the variant COVID-19. They also suggested that to curb the spread of COVID-19, the weekly vaccination rate, currently around 200,000 people, needs to be increased to about 2 million people.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.