A new strain of COVID-19 found in South Africa is believed to be highly transmissible.

The so-called C.1.2. variant was first identified South Africa in May and by August it had been found in the Democratic Republic of Congo, Mauritius, Portugal, New Zealand and Switzerland.

Immunisation expert Professor Robert Booy told Ben Fordham “it’s not yet a variant of concern”.

“But we do need to be alert.

“It appears a little bit more transmissible, but whether it’s more severe is unknown, and whether it’s going to evade our immune protection from vaccine, there’s no early indication that it will, but it might.”

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