In January, a coronavirus variant from Brazil was found in the UK - but it was not the 'variant of concern'. It has now been found in six European countriesWHAT DO WE KNOW ABOUT THE BRAZIL VARIANT? Name: B.1.1.248 or P.1 Date: Discovered in Tokyo, Japan, in four travellers arriving from Manaus, Brazil, on January 2. The tests, completed in early February, were passed to the UK's sequencing programme and were identified as being the Manaus variant. There is mounting concern over the Brazilian strain because of its E484K mutation.

Source: The Nation February 28, 2021 18:03 UTC