Mutant Covid strain wreaking havoc in London and south east is over 50 per cent more infectious
THE mutant Covid strain wreaking havoc in London and the south east is over 50 per cent more infectious.
People with the mutant variant are 54 per cent more likely to pass it on to others, according to Public Health England.
⚠️ Read our coronavirus live blog for the latest news & updates
Despite being more contagious, the strain does not appear to cause worse symptoms or more deaths.
A PHE report compared 1,769 people with the mutant strain and the same number of people with similar genders, ages, residences and dates of infection but with different strains of the bug.
It also found that the new strain was no more infectious among children than other strains.
BUG SURGE
The mutant strain is being blamed for surging cases in London and the South East, which have forced strict Tier 4 lockdown restrictions in the area.
The UK has recorded 53,135 coronavirus cases in the past 24 hours in the biggest rise yet.
There have been 414 more deaths, taking the grim total to 71,567, as hospital admissions go well past the April peak.
The report comes as it is revealed a coronavirus strain similar to the latest UK mutation was already spreading through Italy in August.
The 'Italian variant' was circulating weeks before the first known cases of the UK strain and could have been a 'precursor' to the mutation in England, according to virologist Arnaldo Caruso.
Scientists found the strain while analysing swab samples from a patient who had suffered an unusually persistent Covid-19 infection, the .
The patient had first been diagnosed with Covid-19 in April, but was still recording “positive results with highly charged viruses” in August.
Most read in News
India today became the latest country to announce the UK strain had reached it, after six people who had recently returned from Britain tested positive.
Officials in India have begun contact-tracing close contacts and family members of the six who have tested positive for the new variant, .
Passengers arriving from the UK will undergo tests at all airports in the country, an official statement said.
