The new strain of coronavirus identified in England is up to 70 per cent more transmissible, prime minister Boris Johnson has said, as the government announced further restrictions to curb the rapid spread of the mutated virus.
Scientists have confirmed that the variant is passed more easily between people than the previously dominant strain, raising concerns that NHS services could be overwhelmed over the Christmas period if the spread of the virus is not slowed.
According to government analysis, more than 60 per cent of new cases in London are currently linked to the new strain. It accounts for 59 per cent of cases in the east and 48 per cent in the southeast.
This has led to a recent jump in hospitalisations across all three regions, professor Chris Whitty, the government’s chief medical officer, said during a Downing Street briefing on Saturday.
If allowed to go unchecked, the new variant of the virus could increase the country’s R rate, which is estimated to be between 1.1 and 1.2, by 0.4 per cent.
Sir Patrick Vallance, the government's chief scientific adviser, said: “It’s taken off, it’s moving fast and it’s leading inevitably to a sharp increase in hospitalisations."
The government has insisted the variant does not cause a more serious disease and is unlikely to affect the nationwide rollout of Covid-19 vaccines.
