The Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine does not intend to prohibit the entry of travelers from Great Britain due to the SARS-CoV-2 mutation, but recommends refraining from traveling to the UK, Denmark, the Netherlands, Australia and countries of the "red" zone, Deputy Health Ministe, Chief State Sanitary Doctor Viktor Liashko said during a press briefing in Kyiv on Tuesday, answering a question from Interfax-Ukraine.

"The government will not prohibit the entry of travelers from the UK, but there will be restrictions, namely, travelers from the UK (not citizens of Ukraine) must have a medical insurance policy that covers the case of infection with coronavirus disease and further treatment, a negative PCR test done no later than 48 hours before crossing the border. In the absence of a test, there should be a place of 14-day self-isolation with the installation of the Diy Vdoma application," he said.

Liashko also said that Ukraine will intensify testing to see if the new mutated COVID-19 is circulating in the country.

"For this, appropriate recommendations have been provided. Particular attention will be paid to people with symptoms of COVID-19 disease who have been in the UK during the incubation period or have been in contact with people who have been in the UK. In case of a positive diagnosis, an isolate of the virus will be taken, which will be transferred for genome research, "he said.

Liashko said the emergence of a new strain of the virus has nothing to do with vaccination against COVID-19, since this strain was detected much earlier than the immunization campaign launched. "Virologists in the UK have recorded the circulation of a new variant of SARS-CoV-2, which was isolated from 915 individuals. It is preliminary said about four cases where a new variant of the virus led to the reappearance of the coronavirus disease. But this fact is now being studied. WHO also said that the new variant with these mutations identified in Denmark, Holland and Australia," he said.

"This mutation could have appeared as a result of infection of a person with immunosuppression. The long course of the disease in this person led to the fact that the immune system could not cope with the virus and the virus continued to multiply in the body, which led to some mutations in the spike proteins. But another version is being studied as well, because the mutation found in the coronavirus is very similar to the mutation in the protein found in minks from Denmark," Liashko said.

According to him, the emergence of a new variant of the virus is expected, and there is no reason to worry. Currently, more than 12,000 mutations of the coronavirus have been identified, which have been circulating on the planet for a year.

Liashko also said that the test systems in Ukraine will work on the new strain.

"At the beginning of the pandemic, we followed the WHO recommendations and allowed the implementation and use of test systems that isolate the RNA of the virus in several fragments. Even with the appearance of the new strain, our test systems will work," he said.

According to the deputy minister, preliminary modeling carried out in the UK suggests that this mutation of COVID-19 leads to an increase in the ability to penetrate the cells of the body.

"This leads to the fact that there is a potential threat that the new strain of the virus will be transmitted faster from person to person, that is, the transmission rate will be increased. This could lead to a rapid spread and the emergence of new outbreaks of coronavirus disease. There is currently no information that the mutated coronavirus increases the mortality or severity of the disease," he said.