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 UK variant 'likely to sweep the world'
The coronavirus variant first found in the British region of Kent is
a concern because it could undermine the protection given by
vaccines against developing COVID-19, the head of Britain's genetic
surveillance programme said.
The variant was dominant in Britain and was likely to sweep the
world "in all probability", she said.
Sharon Peacock, director of the COVID-19 Genomics UK consortium,
told the BBC: "What's concerning about this is that the 1.1.7.
variant that we have had circulating for some weeks and months is
beginning to mutate again and get new mutations which could affect
the way that we handle the virus in terms of immunity and
effectiveness of vaccines.”
Africa not 'walking away' from AstraZeneca vaccine
The African Union's disease control body said on Thursday that it
was not "walking away" from AstraZeneca's vaccine, after trial data
showed it had greatly reduced efficacy against the coronavirus
variant dominant in South Africa.
African countries are due to receive 100 million doses of the
AstraZeneca shot this year under an AU vaccine plan.
Africa CDC Director John Nkengasong told a news conference that more
work needed to be done to understand how the vaccine worked against
the more contagious 501Y.V2 variant first identified in South Africa
late last year.
New COVID cluster in Melbourne
Health authorities in Australia's Victoria state ramped up contact
tracing and prepared for more mass testing of residents in Melbourne
after a new COVID-19 cluster linked to a quarantine hotel grew to
eight cases on Thursday.
More than 22,500 test results were conducted in the past 24 hours in
Australia's second most populous city and authorities urged
residents to get tested amid fears of community transmission from a
worker at the Holiday Inn.
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 The new outbreak in Melbourne,
where the Australia Open tennis tournament is
underway, has stirred fears of a fresh wave of
infections in the state hardest hit by COVID-19.
New York will reopen stadiums
New York state will allow large stadiums and
arenas, such as Citi Field and Madison Square
Garden, to reopen for sports and concerts later
this month, with sharply limited capacity and
other measures to prevent the spread of
COVID-19. Any stadium that can
fit more than 10,000 people can stage events beginning on Feb. 23 at
10% capacity so long as the state's Department of Health signs off
on its safety plans, Governor Andrew Cuomo said on Wednesday.
Brooklyn's Barclays Center has already won approval for a basketball
game between the Brooklyn Nets and the Sacramento Kings on that day.
Merkel urges patience
German Chancellor Angela Merkel urged Germans on Thursday to have a
little more patience after agreeing with regional leaders to extend
a coronavirus lockdown until March 7 and said restrictions would not
be kept for a day longer than necessary.
 Addressing the Bundestag lower house of parliament, Merkel said the
extension was needed to avoid a third wave due to the risk posed by
new virus variants.
"I know what we have achieved in our fight against the virus has
had, and is still having, a high price," said Merkel.
(Compiled by Linda Noakes; Editing by Robert Birsel)
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