Sunday, The Head of the Coronavirus Portfolio Wael Al-Hayajneh confirmed to Roya that the new COVID-19 strain which emerged in the UK has yet to reach Jordan, adding that the Kingdom should be cautious and remain non-complacent in the face of the pandemic.

During the Roya program ‘Nabd Al-Balad’, Hayajneh said that virus mutations are continuous and common, adding that the mutation in Britain does not affect the severity of the disease, but it does cause a wider spread.

Hayajneh added that in the coming days, further information about this rapid spread will be obtained in order for Jordan to understand more about the mutation.

All that is known about this mutated virus is that it is rapidly spreading, said Hayajneh.

Additionally, he indicated that some scientists worldwide believe that the vaccines available will not have an effect on the mutated strain. This is due to the vaccines being manufactured on the basis of building immunity against the coronavirus ‘spike protein’.

Hayajneh revealed that there are certain studies in Jordan to decipher the genetic code of coronaviruses that infect Jordanians, and that until the end of September, the genetic codes that were decoded in Jordan did not show the existence of this mutation.

He indicated that during the coming weeks he will receive reports of these results for the months of October to December.

He continued, “we will watch this [pandemic] carefully, and our slogan is never to give up caution in taking preventive measures that remain the main factor in reducing coronavirus infections and limiting its spread among people."