South Africa's new Covid-19 variant: What we know so far Virologists have detected almost 100 cases linked to the variant in the country to date.
In Botswana -- a neighbour of South Africa -- the new variant has been detected in vaccinated people. B.1.1.529 is likely to have evolved during chronic infection of an immuno-compromised person, possibly in an untreated HIV/AIDS patient, said Francois Balloux, director of the UCL Genetics Institute.
South Africa has started to see a renewed surge in Covid-19 case numbers, particularly in the most populous province of Gauteng.
There were 2,465 infections recorded on Thursday, up from fewer than 900 two days previously, with the positivity rate -- or the ratio between cases and tests -- rising