By NewsDesk  @bactiman63

The Norwegian Institute of Public Health, aka Folkehelseinstituttet (FHI), announced a new variant that has similarities with both the English, South African and Brazilian virus variants was discovered in Norway on Wednesday.

Over 20 cases of the new variant with the name B.1.525 have been found in Norway in the last 24 hours. In the UK and Denmark, they have discovered around 30 cases. The variant has probably been circulating in other countries for some time. The earliest traces so far  are 15 December 2020. 

We do not yet know if it is more contagious, but it can be. There are changes at the site in the virus that may have a bearing on infectivity, says department director Line Vold at the National Institute of Public Health (NIPH).

So far, FHI has detected 18 cases, in addition, Oslo University Hospital has detected four cases.

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