Coronavirus: World's most affected countries
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There have been more than 2.4 million coronavirus cases around the world to date, and a new study suggests the strain currently in Europe is much deadlier than that found in the US.

Researchers from Zhejiang University believe the coronavirus has mutated into at least 30 different strains.

The strains in China and Europe were found to be some of the most dangerous, while those in the US were milder, according to the South China Morning Post.

Coronavirus molecules © Provided by Mirror Coronavirus molecules

In the study, the researchers analysed viral strains from 11 coronavirus patients, testing how effectively the virus could infect and kill human cells.

The results revealed that some of the deadliest mutations were found in Zhejiang, while these strains had also been found in Spain, Italy and New York.

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MORE ON CORONAVIRUS:

Download the Microsoft News App for full coverage of the crisis

Simon Harris: Ireland was heading in ‘frightening direction’ before measures (Extra.ie)

Germany begins antibody testing (The Boston Globe)

41 new deaths and 778 more coronavirus cases confirmed in Ireland (Irish Mirror)

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Worryingly, these strains were found to create up to 270 times as much viral load as the mildest strains.

Meanwhile, the mildest strains were largely found in the US, including in Washington State.

Related: Coronavirus crisis around the world (Photos)

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People line up to receive nucleic acid tests at a temporary testing site after a new outbreak of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) in Beijing, China on June 30.
2/50 SLIDES © Arun Sankar/AFP via Getty Images
A watchmaker waits for customers during a government-imposed nationwide lockdown as a preventive measure against the COVID-19 coronavirus in Chennai, India on June 29.
3/50 SLIDES © Kirsty Wigglesworth/AP Photo
A gardener waters the plants alongside a statue of former Wimbledon Champion Fred Perry at the All England Lawn Tennis Club in Wimbledon in London, England on June 29. The 2020 Wimbledon Tennis Championships, that were due to start today but have been canceled due to the coronavirus pandemic. 
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A sign alerts travelers to the danger of COVID-19 at LaGuardia Airport in New York City, New York on June 29.
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King Felipe of Spain and Queen Letizia of Spain during a visit to the Tres Mil Viviendas neighborhood on June 29 in Seville, Spain. This trip is part of a royal tour that will take King Felipe and Queen Letizia through several Spanish Autonomous Communities with the objective of supporting economic, social, and cultural activity after the Coronavirus outbreak. 
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A voter wearing a face mask to protect against coronavirus casts her ballot at a polling station in Moscow, Russia on June 29. Polls opened in Russia on June 25 for a week-long vote on a constitutional reform that would allow President Vladimir Putin to stay in power until 2036. 
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A woman and children without face masks gesture in the back of a car during graduation from the 'Instituto de Aprendizaje Creativo' on June 29 in Monterrey, Mexico. 
8/50 SLIDES © Dita Alangkara/AP Photo
A Greenpeace activist wearing protective gear arranges mannequins used to display posters during a protest outside the parliament in Jakarta, Indonesia on June 29. About a dozen activists staged the protest against the government's omnibus bill on job creation that was intended to boost economic growth and create jobs, saying that it undermined labor rights and environmental protection.
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A man passes a sign at MGM National Harbor as the hotel and casino opens its doors to guests after an easing of restrictions imposed to control the spread of the coronavirus disease in Oxon Hill, Maryland on June 29.
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Students learn the correct way of wearing masks at a primary school, in Jilin, China, on June 29.
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A worker wears a protective face shield as she waits by a table game ahead of the opening of the Sun International's Times Square Casino, in Pretoria, South Africa, on June 29.
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A woman walks on a road painted with circles to help people maintain social distancing, in Mumbai, India, on June 29.
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A woman takes a picture of Greek Tourism Minister Harry Theoharis as he welcomes passengers from Germany who were frontline workers during the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak, in Kos, Greece, on June 29.
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German Chancellor Angela Merkel greets French President Emmanuel Macron at Meseberg Castle, the federal government's guest house,  in Meseberg, Germany, on June 29.
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Boys keeping a safe distance from each other attend a Koran memorization class in a mosque, in Gaza City, on June 29.
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Tokyo Disneyland resort staff members acting as substitute visitors practice social distancing during a rehearsal ahead of reopening along with Tokyo DisneySea after closing for months due to the coronavirus disease outbreak in Urayasu, Japan, on June 29.
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Soldiers from the Royal Logistics Corp operate a mobile coronavirus (Covid-19) testing site at Evington Leisure Centre on June 29, in Leicester, England.
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Activists of Communist Party of India Marxist display placards on face shields and shout slogans during a protest asking the state government to increase testing and free treatment for all COVID-19 patients in Hyderabad, India, on June 29. 
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A police officer walks past closed shops in the old quarter of Bethlehem on June 29, as a decision to close the city for 48 hours as of 6 a.m. takes effect to contain the spread of coronavirus, after a sharp rise in infections in the occupied West Bank, Palestine.
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Laborers, who were not able to cross into Israel for work, gather near an Israeli checkpoint that was closed amid fears of a second wave of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) infections, near Hebron in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, on June 29.
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A member of the ADF (Australian Defence Force) administers a COVID-19 test at Melbourne Showgrounds on June 29, in Melbourne, Australia.
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Residents of the Pablo Neruda Nursing Home in the town of Ciempozuelos are seen applauding during 'Seniors Day,' a celebration called by the Victims Association of COVID-19 on June 28, in Madrid, Spain. 
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Members of the election commission wearing face masks to protect against coronavirus infection help to a voter to cast her ballot at an outdoor polling station in Naziya village, 80 km (50 miles) east of St.Petersburg, Russia, on June 28. Polls have opened in Russia for a week-long vote on a constitutional reform that may allow President Vladimir Putin to stay in power until 2036.
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Demonstrators hold signs during a protest against Brazilian President Jair Bolsonaro and the way he is managing the new coronavirus pandemic and also demanding respect for LGBT rights, in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, on June 28. 
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An elderly woman is tested at a pop-up clinic during a COVID-19 testing blitz in the suburb of Broadmeadows on June 28 in Melbourne, Australia. Victoria's confirmed COVID-19 infection numbers continue to rise, with 49 new coronavirus cases recorded overnight. Health authorities are continuing on a testing blitz in Melbourne suburbs that have been identified as community transmission hotspots for coronavirus. Restrictions in Victoria have been tightened in response to the spike in new cases across the state with premier Daniel Andrews extending the current state of emergency for at least four weeks to allow police the power to enforce social distancing rules.
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A man holds a Mexican flag from a vehicle during a caravan to protest against Mexico's President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, as the spread of the coronavirus disease continues, in Mexico City, Mexico on June 28.
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A group of believers are seen during the Pope Francis Sunday Angelus at San Pietro square in Vatican City on 28 June. 
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Members of Madrid's Critical Pride platform hold a demonstration, amid the spread of the coronavirus disease in central Madrid, Spain, on June 28.
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People wearing facemask gathered at a street market to buy their needs during the coronavirus outbreak in Dhaka, Bangladesh, on June 28.
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A nun casts her ballot during Poland's presidential elections, on June 28, in Krakow, Poland.
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People enjoy the sunshine at a pet-friendly beach, in Oeiras, Portugal, on June 28.
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A poster showing healthy procedures to help curb the pandemic hangs in a barber shop window, in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, on June 28.
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Palestinian boys play as disinfectants are sprayed by workers to sanitize cars and shops, in Hebron, in the Israeli-occupied West Bank, on June 28.
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Diners eat in a cafe on Newbury Street, on June 28 in Boston.
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A mask-clad participant holds a placard as he takes part in Tel Aviv's annual Pride Parade amid the pandemic, on June 28.
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A man sunbathes by the Marmara Sea, in Istanbul, Turkey, on June 28.
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General view of a production line manufacturing face masks at a factory, in Karaj, Iran, on June 28.
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French President Emmanuel Macron speaks with officials as he casts his ballot at a polling station during the second round of French municipal elections, which were delayed due to the spread of the coronavirus disease (COVID-19), in Le Touquet-Paris-Plage, France on June 28.
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A "Thank You" message for the NHS is seen outside the stadium, as a soccer match resumes behind closed doors between Sheffield and Arsenal on June 28, in Britain. 
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Staff at salon attends to a customer after personal grooming services were allowed to resume following relaxation of lockdown norms on June 28, in Mumbai, India. 
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A worker wearing a protective suit talks with people registering for coronavirus tests at a community health clinic in Beijing, on June 28.  China reported more than a dozen of new confirmed cases of COVID-19 on on June 28, all but a few of them from domestic transmission in Beijing, which has seen a recent spike in coronavirus infections. But authorities in the Chinese capital say a campaign to conduct tests on employees at hair and beauty salons across the city has found no positive cases so far, in a further sign that the recent outbreak has been largely brought under control. 

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People dance during the celebration of gay pride on a street in a city neighborhood, although the Mexican LGBT community called for an online celebration as a protective measure amid the coronavirus disease outbreak, in Mexico City, Mexico on June 27. 
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Shoppers wearing face masks walk at the Saara commercial center amid the coronavirus pandemic on June 27 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Mayor Marcelo Crivella moved forward the reopening of street commerce in Rio de Janeiro. The establishments are authorized to operate between 11 AM and 5 PM. According to the mayor, the reopening was approved by the city council's scientific committee. 
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A waiter serves customers in a cafe after months of lockdown, following the outbreak of the coronavirus disease in Cairo, Egypt, on June 27. 
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Bridge climbers on the Harbour Bridge on June 27 in Sydney, Australia. BridgeClimb Sydney reopened to visitors from June 27 following its temporary closure due to the COVID-19 pandemic. BridgeClimb has introduced new COVID-19 safe practises with increased cleaning and sanitisation processes as well as all climbers travelling in small, physically distanced groups. 
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Two women, one wearing a face mask to combat the spread of the coronavirus, shield themselves from the sun under an umbrella while watching a folk group perform a summer solstice dance at the DImitrie Gusti Village Museum in Bucharest, Romania, on June 27. 
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People walk through the mist made to cool people in gardens during hot summer weather in downtown Kyiv, Ukraine, on June 27. Ukraine appeared on the WHO list of countries with a high rate of COVID-19 spread. 
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Joel Draut, a photographer, editor, and photo archivist, waves toward former colleague Laney Chavez during a drive-by vehicle parade to celebrate his retirement, in Katy, Texas, on June 27.
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Leeds United's Ezgjan Alioski celebrates scoring their second goal, as play resumes behind closed doors, in Leeds, England, on June 27.
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A man votes in the 2020 Russian constitutional referendum at polling station No 998, in Ryazan, Russia, on June 27.
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In the study, published in medRxiv, the researchers, led by Hangping Yao, wrote: “This finding suggests that the observed mutations in our study, and possibly in the viral isolates collected around the world, can significantly impact the pathogenicity of SARS-CoV-2.”

Overall, the researchers identified 31 strains of the virus - 19 of which are new.

They explained: “19 of the 31 identified mutations are novel, despite the relatively early sampling dates, indicating that the true diversity of the viral strains is still largely underappreciated.”

Doctor or nurse with gloves and respiratory face mask holding a positive blood test for Coronavirus Covid-19 © Provided by Mirror Doctor or nurse with gloves and respiratory face mask holding a positive blood test for Coronavirus Covid-19

Based on their findings, the researchers concluded that while a coronavirus vaccine may help some patients, it may not be effective against some strains.

They concluded: “Finally, similar to flu, drug and vaccine development, while urgent, need to take the impact of these accumulating mutations, especially the founding mutations, into account to avoid potential pitfalls.”

Anyone who may have been in contact with a person who has COVID-19, is advised to contact HSE Live via 1850 24 1850 or on the HSE website here

If you are unwell with a cough, especially with respiratory symptoms (e.g. cough, high temperature, shortness of breath, difficulty breathing, fever) you should isolate yourself immediately and phone your GP

If you have a COVID-19 related travel query, you can call the dedicated advice centre on (01)613 1733.

Follow the government’s latest travel advice here


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