The United Kingdom has been dominating the headlines today on account of discovering a new strain of the novel coronavirus. The news comes after investigations into why the South of England, especially the London area, has had so much trouble with curbing the spread of Covid-19 in the past few months. Researchers identified a mutated version of the virus is responsible for the bulk of the cases confirmed since September in the United Kingdom.
According to preliminary information, the new strain should still be affected by the vaccines developed this year. However, it is suspected that the mutation is up to 70% more contagious than the other versions of the coronavirus. This means that a great number of people can still contract it and infect others before everyone can get vaccinated.
Response from the rest of the world has been swift. Overnight, the European Union, the United States, Canada, and more imposed travel bans on the United Kingdom. Some countries don’t allow any passengers coming from the UK into their borders, while others are letting them in, provided they quarantine themselves upon arrival.
Doctors have been reassuring the public that despite the high infection rate of the new type of coronavirus, it is not more lethal than the other strains.
In light of these developments, the United Kingdom will be extending and tightening its lockdown measures. The UK hit its all-time highest number of daily infections yesterday, confirming close to 36,000 new cases in one day.
Elsewhere in Europe, France, Spain, and Italy seem to be holding their ground when it comes to the pandemic. Germany is still struggling to bring the daily infection rate under 20,000. The Netherlands has seen a resurgence in the number of new Covid-19 cases; recall that it entered and exited a lockdown earlier than other EU countries this fall. It also broke its own record yesterday, confirming 13,032 new Covid-19 cases.
The trend is a little more optimistic in the world’s most affected region, the United States. Cases have dropped to under 200,000 per day. The infection rate is still higher than anywhere else in the world, but at least it seems to be going down. The US now has two approved vaccines - the Pfizer and Moderna ones, and vaccinations are set to begin today.
Amid all of the Covid-related commotion, today safe havens are making a comeback at the expense of risky assets. The news has boosted the US dollar and depressed stock indices.
Even the news that Congress has finally agreed to pass the $900 billion stimulus package bill failed to support the markets today. The coronavirus pessimism is too strong for other events to interfere.
The fear of a prolonged pandemic also hit the prospects for a recovery in the demand for oil, sending the commodity futures under $50 per barrel again.
