Coronavirus: UK keeping ‘close eye’ on Delta subvariant amid rising cases
- PM Boris Johnson’s spokesman said the government would take action if necessary, but there was no evidence that the AY.4.2 variant spreads more easily
- Infection rates in Britain remain stubbornly high, despite high rates of vaccination, with over 43,000 new cases of Covid-19 recorded on Tuesday
Britain on Tuesday said it was monitoring a subvariant of the Delta strain of the coronavirus that has been seen in a growing number of cases.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s spokesman said the government was keeping a “close eye” on the AY.4.2 variant, which some are calling “Delta Plus”, but said there was no evidence it spreads more easily.
“As you would expect, we are monitoring it closely and won’t hesitate to take action if necessary,” he told reporters.
Overall infection rates in Britain remain stubbornly high, despite high rates of vaccination, and 43,738 new Covid-19 cases were recorded on Tuesday, slightly down from the 49,156 reported on Monday – the largest number since mid-July.
The UK Statistics Authority reported also on Tuesday that 223 people had died within 28 days of testing positive for Covid-19, bringing the total death toll to 138,852.
This was the highest number of Covid-19 deaths in Britain since March 9, when 231 people died.
