Beautiful Virgin Islands

Tuesday, Jun 03, 2025

COVID-19: Scientists warn against lifting lockdown too soon - 'virus always has mutation as a weapon'

COVID-19: Scientists warn against lifting lockdown too soon - 'virus always has mutation as a weapon'

The scientists say easing restrictions too soon could allow more sinister versions of the virus to escape and seed a new outbreak.

Scientists tracking the spread of COVID variants have warned against lifting lockdown too soon.

They caution that easing restrictions before daily cases are in "the low thousands" could allow more sinister versions of the virus to escape and seed a new outbreak.

In an exclusive interview, Steve Paterson, professor of genetics at Liverpool University, told Sky News: "The virus doesn't care that we want to meet our friends. It's going to find new ways to transmit or evade immunity.

Professor Paterson said the virus 'has always got mutation and evolution as a weapon'


"To give public health and the genome sequencing a chance to work out where the virus is mutating and where new variants are starting to spread, we really need that headroom of getting cases down before we can take our foot off the brake.

"That has to be in the low thousands per day.

"Otherwise, we'll end up with cases rising again, in a place where we don't want to be."

The rolling seven-day average of positive cases is currently around 12,000.


Professor Paterson's lab is part of COG-UK, a consortium of labs tracking the rise of new variants.

He said the Joint Biosecurity Centre is keeping a close eye on the outbreak in Bristol, where the more transmissible Kent variant has evolved again, adding the same mutation that helps the South African version of the virus evade the immune system.

There are more than 20 cases so far and surge testing is being carried out to try to identify anyone with the virus.

"A lot of resource is being put into monitoring to see whether it is increasing in frequency or not, and the data we get over the next week or two will really tell us that," said Prof Paterson.

New research shows how quickly the virus can mutate - inside the body of a patient with a chronic COVID infection


He said increasing immunity from a previous infection or from vaccination is putting the virus under pressure to mutate to survive.

"The virus has always got mutation and evolution as a weapon that it can use to counter what we're doing against it, so we have to continue to monitor its genetics.

"We will have to see whether evolution springs another surprise on us. It often does," said Prof Paterson.

New research, just published in the journal Nature, has shown how quickly the virus can mutate - inside the body of a patient with a chronic COVID infection.

Prof Ravi Gupta said that in a patient given plasma antibodies, the virus mutated in an attempt to avoid the treatment


Professor Ravi Gupta, a clinical microbiologist at Cambridge University, was involved in the treatment of a man with a poorly functioning immune system. Within days of being given plasma antibodies from a patient who had recovered from the disease, the virus mutated in an attempt to avoid the treatment.

"It was remarkable," he said.

"Within a week it had shifted its make-up. Billions and billions of virus particles had shifted."

Prof Gupta said what he witnessed - the first real-time study of the virus's evolution - had given him some insight to how new variants are incubated in some patients.

"In our individual, who became infected in the first wave in 2020, it took four months for that virus to evolve to a considerable extent," he said.

Scientists have warned against unlocking restrictions before daily cases were in 'the low thousands'


"If you look at the emergence of the UK Kent variant, the first sequences [of the new virus] were in September.

"That fits very nicely with an infection in the first wave, in April, giving the virus a few months to evolve and mutate, and then spill out into the community once it had acquired enough mutations to make it highly transmissible.

"The second wave started around September and that's possibly why we started detecting it in the community."

Prof Gupta said precautions should be taken when treating COVID infections in patients who have impaired immune systems.

"We need to have an eye on what the negative complications [of treatment] could be, do the relevant surveillance and administer their treatments in isolation rooms, not on open wards," he said.

"We shouldn't underestimate the virus. It will find novel ways around antibodies and immunity. It will make other mutations we can't necessarily predict."

Newsletter

Related Articles

Beautiful Virgin Islands
0:00
0:00
Close
Harvard Urges US to Unfreeze Funds for Public Health Research
Businessman Mauled by Lion at Luxury Namibian Lodge
Researchers Consider New Destinations Beyond the U.S.
53-Year-Old Doctor Claims Biological Age of 23
Trump Struggles to Secure Trade Deals With China and Europe
Russia to Return 6,000 Corpses Under Ukraine Prisoner Swap Deal
Microsoft Lays Off Hundreds More Amid Restructuring
Harvey Weinstein’s Publicist Embraces Notoriety
Macron and Meloni Seek Unity Despite Tensions
Trump Administration Accused of Obstructing Deportation Cases
Newark Mayor Sues Over Arrest at Immigration Facility
Center-Left Candidate Projected to Win South Korean Presidency
Trump’s Tariffs Predicted to Stall Global Economic Growth
South Korea’s President-Elect Expected to Take Softer Line on Trump and North Korea
Trump’s China Strategy Remains a Geopolitical Puzzle
Ukraine Executes Long-Range Drone Strikes on Russian Airbases
Conservative Karol Nawrocki wins Poland’s presidential election
Study Identifies Potential Radicalization Risk Among Over One Million Muslims in Germany
Good news: Annalena Baerbock Elected President of the UN General Assembly
Apple Appeals EU Law Over User Data Sharing Requirements
South Africa: "First Black Bank" Collapses after Being Looted by Owners
Poland will now withdraw from the EU migration pact after pro-Trump nationalist wins Election
"That's Disgusting, Don’t Say It Again": The Trump Joke That Made the President Boil
Trump Cancels NASA Nominee Over Democratic Donations
Paris Saint-Germain's Greatest Triumph Is Football’s Lowest Point
OnlyFans for Sale: From Lockdown Lifeline to Eight-Billion-Dollar Empire
Mayor’s Security Officer Implicated | Shocking New Details Emerge in NYC Kidnapping Case
Hegseth Warns of Potential Chinese Military Action Against Taiwan
OPEC+ Agrees to Increase Oil Output for Third Consecutive Month
Jamie Dimon Warns U.S. Bond Market Faces Pressure from Rising Debt
Turkey Detains Istanbul Officials Amid Anti-Corruption Crackdown
Taylor Swift Gains Ownership of Her First Six Albums
Bangkok Ranked World's Top City for Remote Work in 2025
Satirical Sketch Sparks Political Spouse Feud in South Korea
Indonesia Quarry Collapse Leaves Multiple Dead and Missing
South Korean Election Video Pulled Amid Misogyny Outcry
Asian Economies Shift Away from US Dollar Amid Trade Tensions
Netflix Investigates Allegations of On-Set Mistreatment in K-Drama Production
US Defence Chief Reaffirms Strong Ties with Singapore Amid Regional Tensions
Vietnam Faces Strategic Dilemma Over China's Mekong River Projects
Malaysia's First AI Preacher Sparks Debate on Islamic Principles
White House Press Secretary Criticizes Harvard Funding, Advocates for Vocational Training
France to Implement Nationwide Smoking Ban in Outdoor Spaces Frequented by Children
Meta and Anduril Collaborate on AI-Driven Military Augmented Reality Systems
Russia's Fossil Fuel Revenues Approach €900 Billion Since Ukraine Invasion
U.S. Justice Department Reduces American Bar Association's Role in Judicial Nominations
U.S. Department of Energy Unveils 'Doudna' Supercomputer to Advance AI Research
U.S. SEC Dismisses Lawsuit Against Binance Amid Regulatory Shift
Alcohol Industry Faces Increased Scrutiny Amid Health Concerns
Italy Faces Population Decline Amid Youth Emigration
×