Covid-19: S.African official says WHO will designate new variant as “of concern”

A senior South African health official said he had been told on Friday that the World Health Organisation (WHO) would designate the new Covid-19 variant detected in South Africa as a variant “of concern”.

“We are busy trying to get some information behind the scenes about what was discussed at the WHO meeting today. Earlier in the day I just got a message to say that they were going to promote this variant to a ‘variant of concern’,” Nicholas Crisp, acting director general in the health department, told a media briefing.

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