'Troublemaker for the next surge': Top doctor warns of new COVID-19 virus killing the young in their thousands
As COVID-19 vaccines are rolled out around the world, a top doctor is warning of a new virus strain that is killing the young in their thousands.
Brazil is swamped by new virus cases, with a warning to Australia that this variant is far more dangerous than anything seen before.
The new variant has overwhelmed the country to the point gravediggers are exhuming old tombs to make space for the more than 300,000 dead.
Watch the full interview at the top of the page.
Medical staff members transport a patient on a stretcher at the Pedro DellAntonia Sports Complex field hospital as coronavirus cases soar on March 11, in Santo Andre, Brazil. Getty
"The entire country has no ICU beds left. The deaths are soaring exponentially … like through the roof," Dr Eric Liang Feigl-Ding, an epidemiologist from Harvard, told 9News.
Dr Feigl-Ding was one of the first epidemiologists to raise the alarm that COVID-19 was heading towards a pandemic in January 2020.
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The Brazilian variant, known as P1, has been described as like a viral match to kerosene.
It's up to 150 per cent more infectious than regular COVID-19 and attacks people in their 30s, 40s and 50s.
"P1 could be the variant that is the big troublemaker for the next surge," he said.
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A family member of a patient hospitalised with COVID-19 waits in line in hopes of refilling empty oxygen tanks, outside the Nitron da Amazonia company, in Manaus, Amazonas state, Brazil. AP
In just one month, Brazil's daily deaths have surged well past 3000 a day.
The variant has already made its way to Canada, to a Whistler ski resort that's popular with Australians, while 16 players in the professional ice hockey team the Vancouver Canucks have caught it too.
"There are cases here with the Canucks where the individuals here are very ill," Canadian sportscaster Darren Dreger said.
Dr Feigl-Ding, who is a senior fellow at the Federation of American Scientists, said it should serve as a warning to many, particularly Australians.
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Cemetery workers carry the remains of 89-year-old Abilio Ribeiro, who died of the new coronavirus, to bury at the Nossa Senhora Aparecida cemetery in Manaus, Amazonas state, Brazil. AP
"If professional, young athletes can get very sick from this virus … so can you," he said.
"Australia has done pretty well so far ... but we have commended countries that did well early in the pandemic … but we saw later on disaster hit."
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