A primary school staff member undergoes a Covid test in Shenyang, China
(Picture: AFP via Getty Images)A new Covid variant discovered in South Africa may have increased transmissibility, scientists have said.
The C.1.2 variant, first discovered in May, has since August been found in six of South Africa’s nine provinces as well as the Democratic Republic of Congo, Mauritius, Portugal, New Zealand and Switzerland.
The mutations on the virus “are associated with increased transmissibility” and an increased ability to evade antibodies, according to research published by South African groups including the KwaZulu-Natal Research Innovation and the National Institute for Communicable Diseases.
It comes as the number of organ transplants fell by more than 30 per cent during the first wave of Covid in 2020. According to modelling calculations, the slowdown in transplants resulted in more than 48,000 years of patient life loss.
