A new variant of Covid-19 has been identified in the UK, the health secretary, Matt Hancock, has revealed, warning it could be linked with the rapid spread of the virus in south-east England.
Updating the Commons on Monday, Hancock told MPs: “Over the last few days, thanks to our world-class genomic capability in the UK, we have identified a new variant of coronavirus which may be associated with the fastest spread of the virus in the south-east of England.
“Initial analysis suggests that this variant is growing faster than the existing variance. 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 said it was highly unlikely a vaccine would not work against the new variant.
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