The British government said today, Tuesday, that it is “closely following” the spread of a new sub-mutant of the Corona virus, in light of the high number of infections in the country, and it has not yet been determined whether it is more contagious.

The mutant “AY4 Point To” (AY4.2) is a branch of the highly contagious “Delta” that first appeared in India and caused a high outbreak of the epidemic in late spring and early summer.

A government spokesman said: “We are following” the new mutation “closely and will not hesitate to take action if necessary.”

But he stressed that “nothing suggests that it is spreading at a higher speed.”

This comes at a time when the United Kingdom is recording an increasing number of infections exceeding 40,000 every day, which is a much higher rate than the rest of Europe.

Britain has counted a total of about 139,000 deaths from the epidemic.

Some scholars attribute the deterioration of the epidemiological situation, especially among adolescents and young adults, to the weak vaccination of minors, the diminishing of immunity to vaccination of the elderly too early, and the lifting of preventive measures in England in July. NS

Ken, director of the Institute of Genetics at the University of California, Francois Ballou, believes that the new mutation “is not the cause of the recent rise in the number of infections in the United Kingdom.”

The researcher added that their appearance does not constitute “a situation similar to the appearance of the two mutant “alpha” and “delta”, which were more transmissible (50 percent or more) than all strains at that time.”

The new mutant is almost nonexistent outside the United Kingdom, except for three cases recorded in the United States and a few in Denmark, where it has almost disappeared since. Work is underway to test its resistance to vaccines.