Chief Medical Officer Paul Kelly says the South African coronavirus strain is becoming dominant. What does this mean for Australia?

The B1351 strain of coronavirus, often referred to as the South African strain, is on its way to becoming the dominant COVID-19 strain throughout the world, Chief Medical Officer Paul Kelly says.

During a national coronavirus update, Professor Kelly said 80 countries across all six World Health Organization regions had now recorded imported cases or community transmission of the strain.

“That is becoming the normal strain of the virus that is circulating around the world,” he added.

“We need to be prepared for those strains which are definitely more able to be transmitted between people [and] may be associated with more severity. That is still information we need to continue to watch carefully.”

So what does this all mean for us?