After being discovered in a handful of other countries, including the United States, a new coronavirus variant known as B.1.621 is being investigated in the United Kingdom after 16 cases emerged, according to Public Health England. The country is struggling to deal with rising cases caused by the infectious Delta variant after lifting most pandemic restrictions earlier this week.
B.1.621 was categorised as a “variant under investigation” on Wednesday, prompting an inquiry, according to Public Health England.
So far, 16 cases have been discovered across the UK, including ten of them in London.
According to PHE, “the majority” of these cases are linked to international travel, and no evidence of transmission has been found in the United Kingdom.
There was no proof that the variant caused more severe sickness or rendered immunizations less effective, said the public health agency.
PHE said it is conducting “laboratory testing to better understand the impact of mutations on the behaviour of the virus” and will take “all required public health steps” to identify and follow up on infections in order to limit the spread of the variant.
The variant was recognized during routine scanning, according to PHE, because of potentially problematic mutations and its apparent international spread, which included cases in the United States (592), Portugal (56), Japan (47), Switzerland (41).
According to the WHO, the first case of B.1.621 was discovered in Colombia in January. Since then, it has been documented in 26 countries and territories, with GISAID data indicating that the number of nations reporting cases increased in June and July. Nearly half of the cases have been reported in the United States.
The Covid-19 situation in the United Kingdom has deteriorated in recent weeks, which has been attributed to the virus’s Delta variant spread. Despite the increase in cases, Covid-19 restrictions in the UK were lifted this week. The nation recorded 31,794 coronavirus cases on Saturday.
According to reports, the R rate of coronavirus in the UK is between 1.2 and 1.4, meaning that one sick person can infect more than one person. In England, the infection rate in private households has likewise reached new highs since January.
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