On Monday India suspended all flights from and to the UK until December 31, amid concerns about a new variant of SARS-CoV-2 that is “spreading & growing rapidly” there. Several other countries, too, have suspended UK flights and imposed travel restrictions.

What are these concerns leading to travel restrictions?

Last week, the new SARS-CoV-2 variant was revealed to be the reason behind the rapid surge in Covid-19 cases in South and East England. It is being referred to as VUI (Variant Under Investigation) 202012/01, or the B.1.1.7 lineage.

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“Over the last few days, thanks to our world-class genomic capability, we have identified a new variant of the coronavirus, which may be associated with the faster spread in the South of England,” UK Health Secretary Matt Hancock told the House of commons on December 14. UK authorities have already notified the World Health Organization about the variant.

Public Health England (PHE) announced that 1,108 cases with this variant have been identified as of December 13, “predominantly in the South and East of England”. “PHE is working with partners to investigate and plans to share its findings over the next 2 weeks,” it said.

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Also read |Covid-19 new strain: Caution is key, details of threat not clear as yet

What is the variant like?

The variant was identified in genomic surveillance by COVID-19 Genomics UK (COG-UK), a consortium that analyses genome sequencing data from the UK. COG-UK is the largest contributor to the global Covid-19 database GISAID.

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The variant is the result of multiple mutations in the spike protein of the novel coronavirus SARS-CoV-2, as well as mutations in other genomic regions of the RNA virus. Preliminary analysis suggests that it is more transmissible than previously circulating variants. COG-UK identified one of these mutations as “N501Y”, in an area of the spike protein that binds to a key protein in the human cell, the ACE2 receptor. This was an indication that the alterations may, theoretically, result in the virus becoming more infectious. “Efforts are underway to confirm whether or not any of these mutations are contributing to increased transmission,” the consortium said.