With quite a benign forecast for the SARS-CoV-2 virus, the emergence of a new and potentially more virulent strain cannot be ruled out, a member of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Gennady Onishchenko, told TASS on Monday.
“Speaking of likelihoods, the [coronavirus] could mutate into a new strain that would have altered properties and could even be more virulent,” the academician warned.
According to Onishchenko, “for the time being, the forecast is quite benign in terms of potential mutations and the emergence of new strains.” However, “nothing can be ruled out,” he emphasized.
On October 5, the World Health Organization’s Maria Van Kerkhove said the COVID-19 continued to evolve and was “for sure going into the future.”.
Source: Kyrgyz National News Agency