Schools might need to shut due to arrival of mutant strain of coronavirus, says NI’s Chief Scientific Advisor Professor Ian Young

Northern Ireland’s chief scientific officer Professor Ian Young has said it will be very difficult to keep schools open if the new variant of Covid-19 becomes dominant in the region.
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The first positive case of the new strain in Northern Ireland was confirmed on Wednesday.

“If the variant were the dominant form in Northern Ireland, then it is very unlikely that we could keep R at less than 1 and schools open,” Prof Young told BBC Radio Ulster’s Stephen Nolan Show.

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He said he does not believe that at present the variant is a “major form” in Northern Ireland, but said he is confident there is a small number of cases.

Professor Ian YoungProfessor Ian Young
Professor Ian Young

“This particular variant does appear to be significantly different than many of the others which have been in circulation, it has a number of different mutations or changes to its genetic material and those affect the structure of some of the key parts of the virus. As a result it is highly likely that the virus is transmitted more easily than the form of the virus that we have been used to, somewhere between 40-70% more easily transmitted,” he said.

“We don’t think it causes a more severe disease… and we are reasonably confident that it will still respond to the vaccine and that the vaccine will protect against this variant form.”

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