The news of new coronavirus strain came to light when a stricter level of lockdown was imposed in different parts of south-east England to curb the rapid spike in infections.

Amid fears of the new strain of the coronavirus spreading quickly in the UK, many countries have imposed a temporary ban on all flights to and from the UK. Pakistan has also banned flights from England.

The news of new strain of COVID-19 is causing panic and fear and everyone is searching for answers.

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Here’s what you should know:

Why do we have a new strain of coronavirus?

The short answer to this question is that because viruses “evolve”. Just like cell-based life, we get new strains of viruses because of some genetic changes caused due to the evolution of the virus.

What is the new COVID-19 strain?

The new coronavirus strain has been labelled “B.1.1.7”. Reportedly, the new strain of the virus can lead to a “quicker spread” (scientists are still looking for more evidence) of COVID-19.

Scientists say it is about 40%-70% more transmissible. However, there is no evidence that this new strain of the virus is “more lethal”. B.1.1.7 has far more mutations than in any previous variant of the Sars-Cov-2 virus analysed since the pandemic started, but scientists are also wondering how it evolved so fast.

According to some experts, it is entirely too early to make a definitive conclusion.

Will vaccine work against the new strain?

Scientists are hopeful that the vaccines will work against this new strain. This is because the parts that Pfizer/BioNtech, Moderna and Oxford/Astrazeneca shots target has not changed much.