Belgium has declared its first major outbreak of the South African variant of the virus that causes Covid-19 [501Y.V2], with the infection of 15 people in Ostend.
One case of the variant was detected earlier in the week in the coast city. Today, another 14 were discovered in the geriatrics department of the Sint-Jan hospital. Another single sample was found in a care home.
And the chance is high that more cases will come to light. Another 22 residents of the home are infected with Covid-19, but their samples have not yet been tested for the presence of the variant.
