Health Minister Jan Blatný announces that shops will not be allowed to reopen on February 22, unlike what was previously promised. He also announced that residents will be required to wear FFP2 respirators, nanotowels, or two surgical masks in indoor places and on public transport due to the spread of the B.1.1.7 variant. 2021-02-19
Health authorities impose tougher lockdowns in Oslo and nine neighbouring municipalities due to an increase in cases of a more contagious variant from the UK that also caused two deaths in care home residents yesterday. 2021-01-23
Bavaria detects a new variant of SARS-CoV-2 in 35 newly-infected patients in Garmisch-Partenkirchen, which is different from the strain originating from the United Kingdom. 2021-01-18
Los Angeles County reports their first case of the UK variant of SARS-CoV-2 in a man who traveled to the United Kingdom and is currently in quarantine in Oregon. 2021-01-16
Vaccine developer Pfizer announces that lab studies have concluded that the joint Pfizer–BioNTech vaccine remains effective against mutation variants of the SARS-CoV-2 virus, including Variant of Concern 202012-01 and the 501.V2 variant. 2021-01-8
The Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention reports their first case of a new variant of SARS-CoV-2. The patient is a 23-year-old woman who travelled from the United Kingdom to Shanghai on December 14 and later tested positive for COVID-19. 2020-12-31
California reports its first case of a more contagious variant of SARS-CoV-2 from the United Kingdom in a patient from Southern California. 2020-12-30
A University of Barcelona-led investigation uncovers traces of SARS-CoV-2 in frozen Barcelona sewage samples drawn on 12 March 2019, more than half a year before the first publicly confirmed case of COVID-19 in China. 2020-06-26