Over 1,000 cases of a new coronavirus variant found in England, minister says

Over 1,000 cases of a new coronavirus variant have been identified in the past few days in England, predominantly in the south of the country where it could be connected to a surge in cases, Health Secretary Matt Hancock said on Monday.

"We have identified a new variant of coronavirus, which may be associated with the faster spread in the southeast of England," Hancock said in a statement to parliament.

"Initial analysis suggests that this variant is growing faster than the existing variants," he said.

"I must stress at this point that there is currently nothing to suggest that the variant is more likely to cause serious disease, and the latest clinical advice is that it's highly unlikely that this mutation would fail to respond to a vaccine," he added.

London will move into the highest tier of coronavirus restrictions from Wednesday as a result of soaring coronavirus case rates. Health Secretary Matt Hancock will set out the move, which is also expected to apply to parts of Essex and Hertfordshire, in a Commons statement.

“We’ve currently identified over 1,000 cases with this variant predominantly in the South of England although cases have been identified in nearly 60 different local authority areas. “And numbers are increasing rapidly.”

He added: “I need to tell the House that over the last week, we’ve seen very sharp, exponential rises in the virus across London, Kent, parts of Essex and Hertfordshire.

“We do not know the extent to which this is because of the new variant but no matter its cause we have to take swift and decisive action which unfortunately is absolutely essential to control this deadly disease while the vaccine is rolled out.”

Ref: dailymail, birminghammail, oxfordmail