The Indian coronavirus variant has been detected in a number of areas in England which are reporting the highest rates of infection, data suggests.
Data from Public Health England (PHE) shows a rise in cases of the Indian variant of concern from 520 to 1,313 this week in the UK, with the agency saying infections were “rising in the community” and it was assessing the impact and severity.
Although the Indian variant is thought to be highly transmissible, vaccines are expected to be effective against it.
The majority of the 1,313 cases of the B16172 variant, which was first identified in India, are in England, with PHE reporting 35 in Scotland, 11 in Wales and 12 in Northern Ireland.