New COVID-19 Mutation May be Strong Enough to Surpass Protection Barriers

Coronavirus returns with a vengeance- experts say the second wave of COVID-19 appears to be even more contagious than the first and can be strong enough to surpass masks and social distancing efforts.

In a paper, Scientists identified that 99.9 percent of second wave cases in the Houston, Texas area are infected with the new strain, the Washington Post reported.

The new strain, known as the D614G mutation, consists of higher loads of the virus, which does not make it more deadly but does make it more contagious.

The paper has not yet been peer-reviewed.

David Morens, a virologist at the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, said the mutation may have evolved enough to resist our protectective efforts but may also implicate "our ability to control it."

"Wearing masks, washing our hands, all those things are barriers to transmissibility or contagion, but as the virus becomes more contagious, it statistically is better at getting around those barriers," Morens said.