Covid: Indian variant being investigated in UK

Posted: April 19th 2021

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This story simply remind us that we are not out of the woods yet. It tells us:

Health officials are looking at whether a new Indian Covid strain spreads more easily and evades vaccines.

There is not yet enough data to classify it as a "variant of concern", a leading scientist has said.

But Dr Susan Hopkins of Public Health England said some cases had been found in the UK that were not linked to travel, with their origin now being investigated.

More than 70 cases have been identified in England and Scotland.

It is also too soon to decide if India should be put on the government's travel "red list", Dr Hopkins said.

On Sunday the UK recorded 1,882 new coronavirus cases and 10 deaths within 28 days of a positive test, according to the latest government figures. The number of deaths recorded at weekends tends to be lower because of reporting delays.

Meanwhile, more than 32.8 million people have had their first dose of a coronavirus vaccine, while more than 9.9 people have had their second dose.