More than 100 cases of a new ‘Thai variant’ of Covi-19 have been detected in the UK.
There have been 109 detected cases in the UK of the C.36.3 variant first detected in Thailand, in cases that had traveled from Egypt.
Public health England (PHE) reported on May 24 that the new variant was under study.
Scientists will perform lab tests to determine if it meets the threshold of being a variant of concern.
At this time, there is no evidence to suggest that the new strain is more serious or ineffective against vaccines.
Scientists want to know more about the new variant as international travel restrictions relax across the UK.
PHE is not disclosing where in Britain new cases have been detected, but said the testing and traceability system is being used to limit the spread of the new variant.
Meanwhile, confirmed cases of the Indian variant of Covid-19 have doubled in one week to nearly 7,000, although hospital admissions remain broadly stable, the data shows.
Health Secretary Matt Hancock told a Downing Street press conference that up to three-quarters of new coronavirus cases were the Indian variant, although he stressed the vaccines had an effect on keeping people out of the hospital.
He said: “The latest estimates are that more than half and potentially three-quarters of all new cases are now of this variant.
“As we set our roadmap, we always expected an increase in cases, we must remain vigilant.
“The goal, of course, is to sever the link with hospitalizations and deaths so that single cases no longer require strict restrictions on people’s lives.”
New data from Public Health England (PHE) shows 6,959 cases of the Indian variant of the coronavirus have been confirmed in the UK.
Figures are up to May 26 and represent an increase of 3,535 from the previous week.
In England, 6,180 cases have been confirmed, including 702 in Scotland, 58 in Wales and 19 in Northern Ireland.
Mr Hancock told MPs in the Commons on Thursday it was too early to say whether the June 21 lifting of restrictions would continue.
It comes after Professor Neil Ferguson of Imperial College London, whose modeling was instrumental in the UK’s lockdown in March 2020, said the Indian variant is now “the dominant strain” in the UK. United Kingdom and that the full reopening of the company on June 21 “hangs in the balance”.
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Source: www.times-series.co.uk
This notice was published: 2021-05-28 10:08:54
