Is coronavirus really spreading faster than usual in Victoria?
A row has broken out over claims the SARS-CoV-2 variant spreading in Melbourne poses a greater threat than previous outbreaks
Epidemiologists are divided over claims the coronavirus variant that has triggered Victoria’s fourth lockdown is more infectious than previous strains.
With cases climbing to 63, health officials are pointing to evidence that the Kappa variant (see box, below) is as transmissible as the Alpha variant that wreaked havoc in the UK.
Victorian Chief Health Officer Professor Brett Sutton has described the variant, which is linked to an Indian strain, as “an absolute beast” that is spreading “faster than any other strain we’ve dealt with”.
“The Kappa variant, as it’s now called, is not the most infectious, but it is more infectious than anything in the beginning and middle of 2020,” he told reporters on Wednesday.
