Varient: South African health minister says C.1.2 variant not a threat for now

South African health minister says C.1.2 variant not a threat for now South Africa's Health Minister Joe Phaahla said on Friday that scientists had told the government that at this stage the C.1.2 coronavirus variant detected locally was not a threat. Reuters Reuters

JOHANNESBURG, Sept 3 (Reuters) - South Africa's Health Minister Joe Phaahla said on Friday that scientists had told the government that at this stage the C.1.2 coronavirus variant detected locally was not a threat.

The C.1.2 variant was first identified in May and has now been seen in all of the country's nine provinces.

It contains some mutations associated in other variants with increased transmissibility and reduced sensitivity to neutralising antibodies, leading researchers to flag its detection to the government and the World Health Organization (WHO). read more

"At this stage they (scientists) have assured us it's not really a threat, they are just watching it," Phaahla told a news conference, noting C.1.2 had only been detected in small numbers so far.  ...