How big is the menace of the ‘mutant’ SARS-CoV-2 strain?

Brisbane is entering a three-day lockdown and new border controls are being introduced

The detection of a mutant strain of SARS-CoV-2 on Australian soil is causing alarm, with the national cabinet announcing new border measures to shield the nation and the population of Brisbane is being placed in a three-day lockdown.

We talk to two leading virologists about what this mutation means, both in terms of its transmissibility and the efficacy of the vaccines.

Their message: yes, it’s serious but certainly not unexpected and certainly not unmanageable.

The strain, which has been causing the UK so much trouble, was detected in a Queensland quarantine hotel cleaner earlier this week.