Cases of Covid variant first identified in India double in UK

Covid in UK (Reuters)Premium
Covid in UK (Reuters)
 1 min read . Updated: 21 May 2021, 02:06 PM IST Staff Writer

The cases of Covid variant first identified in India has more than doubled in the UK. With 2,111 new cases, the country now has 3424 cases. In a statement, the Public Health England (PHE) said that cases of "VOC (variant of concern) -21APR-02 have risen by 2,111 to 3,424 since last week." It said that the cases were still predominantly affecting the North West of England – particularly Bolton – and London, but it was seeing clusters of cases across the country.

"There is evidence that VOC-21APR-02 is growing rapidly and may be more transmissible than VOC-20DEC-01, the ‘Kent variant’ that is currently dominant in the UK. Experts at PHE are monitoring the situation closely," the statement said.

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Last week, the number of cases was 1,313 and 520 a week earlier.

Dr Meera Chand, Covid Incident Director at PHE, said that "VOC-21APR-02 has grown rapidly in England and may be highly transmissible". The PHE, she said, will continue to monitor all variants closely, paying particular attention to the impact on hospitalisations and deaths which will help us to understand the protective effects of the vaccine.

Chand said that there was currently no evidence to suggest the vaccines would be less effective in protecting people against severe illness and hospitalisation from the said variant. She said that it was highly likely that the vaccines offer significant protection against severe disease, hospitalisation and death. "Further work is being rapidly carried out to understand more about the protection the vaccines offer, including impact on transmission," Chand said.

Last week, UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson had said that he was 'anxious' about the variant identified in India, and warned that the rise in cases due to it could affect the country’s plans to reopen.


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