COVID-19: UK South African variant cases on the rise – as India double mutation also heads to Britain | World news

A total of 600 people in the UK have now contracted the South African variant of the coronavirus, new figures show.

56 more cases have been reported this week and although Public Health England (PHE) has not provided a geographical breakdown of where they are, but it says 524 are in England.

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The last days, three major London boroughs have been in the spotlight of COVID surge tests.

Health officials have tested around 650,000 people and it has been reported that “dozens” of cases of the South African variant have been discovered in Wandsworth and Lambeth.

Figures released today would not have included any instances of the variant found in surge testing – as it takes a few days for results to be confirmed.

The news comes as a variant of the coronavirus with a ‘double mutation’ has been detected in the UK after first emerging in India.

A total of 77 cases of the variant, known as B.1.617, were found across the country – 73 in England and four in Scotland – in the days leading up to April 14, the latest update from PHE.

The strain is of particular concern because it has two mutations in the spike protein combined in the same virus, raising concerns that it is more infectious or less susceptible to vaccines.

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