Cases of Indian variant jump nearly 80% in a week
Cases of the Covid variant first detected in India have spiked by nearly 80% from last week, Public Health England (PHE) said.
It is now believed to be the dominant variant in the UK after overtaking the Kent strain, with a total of 12,431 confirmed cases.
PHE said the latest data suggests there could be an increased risk of hospitalisation from the B.1.617.2 Indian strain – recently renamed Delta by the World Health Organisation – compared with the Kent variant.
However, further data is ‘needed to have more confidence in that finding’, PHE added.
There were 278 people who tested positive for the strain attending hospital emergency departments this week – up from 201 last week.
A total of 94 patients stayed overnight – up from 43 admissions the week before.
The majority of people hospitalised had not received a vaccine.
Data shows that the variant is causing the majority of infections in 102 local authorities in England – nearly a third of the country.
Bolton is still the area most affect by the variant, with cases rising by 795 from last week to a total of 2,149.
But PHE said there are ‘encouraging signs’ that the infection rate in the Greater Manchester town has started to fall following a ramped-up vaccination programme and surge testing.
Blackburn with Darwen is the second most impacted area, where cases of the variant have jumped by 368 week-on-week to a total of 724.
Dr Jenny Harries, chief executive of the UK Health Security Agency, said: ‘With this variant now dominant across the UK, it remains vital that we all continue to exercise as much caution as possible.
‘The way to tackle variants is to tackle the transmission of Covid-19 as a whole. Work from home where you can, and practice “hands, face, space, fresh air” at all times.
‘If you are eligible and have not already done so, please come forward to be vaccinated and make sure you get your second jab. It will save lives.’
Despite the increase, Boris Johnson insisted there is nothing in the data to suggest that so-called ‘Freedom Day’ should be delayed.
A growing number of experts have warned against lifting all restrictions on June 21 to avoid an even faster spreading mutant virus emerging.
Professor Ravi Gupta, a member of the New and Emerging Respiratory Virus Threats Advisory Group (Nervtag) said the easing on May 17 could already lead to ‘quite a lot’ of hospital admissions.
Speaking to ITV’s Good Morning Britain, Prof Gupta said: ‘Even a month delay could have a big impact on the eventual outcome of this.’
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