Variously different strands of Covid have been found throughout the world.  These strands carry different effects, some cause a higher chance of infection while others are more fatal and cause more deaths. Here are some of the most recently discovered strands of Covid-19.

One of the first discoveries of a new strand was around December and was from South Africa. The news strand, 501.V2, is reported to be a more infectious variant of Covid. The affects have been brutal as the number of cases have gone from 4,011 cases to 20,999 cases in just a month and has resulted 5,826 deaths. The new cases have resulted in travel bans from five countries and a record amount of people in hospitals.

Another new strand of Covid was found in Britain last December. The strand, much like the one found in South Africa, is believed to be more contagious. This caused the amount of Corona cases to rise about 40%. Thankfully, the new strand has not been proven to cause higher death rates. None the less, as the cases spread the Prime Minister of Britain, Boris Johnson, ordered schools to shutdown.

The Covid Strand known as B117 has recently appeared in the United States. The strand has been most commonly found in California and Florida and is believed to enter several other states in the future. Much like the other strands, B117 is more contagious but does not appear to cause a higher death rate. No new lock down orders have been given yet and several states seem to be keen are keeping schools in person.

The new strands of Covid have cause a rapid spread of the disease with about 500,000 cases being reported each day. Thankfully, none of the new strands seem to cause more deaths than the original. Unfortunately, if one strand does develop that does cause a higher mortality rate, than much of the world will be unprepared for the chaos.

Sources: Stephanie Soucheray, “CDC: Variant Covid-19 strain likely circulating in many states.” University of Minnesota, Jan. 7, 2021

Noah Higgins-Dunn, “The U.K. has identified a new Covid-19 strain that spreads more quickly. Here’s what they know.” CNCB, Dec. 19, 2020

Jason Burke, “South Africa struggles to contain second Covid wave with new strain.” The Guardian, Dec. 22, 2020

Brenda Goodman, “New Covid Strains Could Disrupt Life Again.” WebMD, Jan. 6, 2021