MORE than 250 other cases of the Delta variant of the coronavirus have been recorded in Brighton and Hove, new figures reveal.
Figures from Public Health England show that 551 cases of the Delta variant – first identified in India – had been recorded in the city as of June 23.
This was 262 more than the 289 cases recorded the week before.
Those identified in the past week were among at least 9,531 cases of the variant recorded in the south-east – the fourth most affected of the nine regions in England.
The UK Health Safety Agency said vaccines broke the link between cases and hospitalizations nationwide, but urged people to continue to be careful.
The Northwest continued to have the highest number identified, with 38,189 Delta variant cases recorded there.
Across the UK, an additional 35,204 cases were recorded last week to reach a total of 111,157, an increase of 46%.
Of these, 42 are the so-called Delta plus variant, which India’s Ministry of Health says spreads more easily, binds more easily to lung cells, and is potentially resistant to certain drug treatments that can help neutralize the virus. .
But while the Delta variant now accounts for around 95% of new cases sequenced in the UK, PHE said vaccines continued to have a “crucial effect on hospitalizations and deaths.”
Another 514 people were admitted to hospital in England with Covid-19 in the week to June 21.
Of these, 304 were not vaccinated.
Dr Jenny Harries, Managing Director of the UK Health Security Agency, said: “Thanks to the success of our vaccination program, the data suggests that we have started to sever the link between cases and hospitalizations. This is extremely encouraging news, but we cannot get complacent.
“Two doses of the vaccine is much more effective against Covid-19 than a single dose, so be sure to show up for your second dose as soon as you are prompted. ”
PHE also said that another variant, Lambda, was under investigation due to an increase in international cases and several notable mutations.
PHE said testing is ongoing and there is currently no evidence that this variant causes more serious illness or makes vaccines less effective.
The body also said variant numbers this week are likely underestimated due to an operational issue being investigated by the Wellcome Sanger Institute into the potential cross-contamination of a number of positive samples of Covid-19.
PHE said these samples were tested by PCR before being sent to the Sanger Institute, meaning people received their correct test results and positive cases were asked to isolate.
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Source: www.theargus.co.uk
This notice was published: 2021-06-28 09:41:02