The so-called Indian variant of coronavirus is now the most dominant across the UK, Public Health England has announced.
PHE warned there had been a 79-per-cent increase in cases related to the B.1.617.2 mutation across England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland in the past week alone.
It comes as transport secretary Grant Shapps admitted there is some concern about a “Nepal mutation of the so-called Indian variant” after the government announced Portugal would be taken off England’s green travel list and added to the amber one.
The decision was made by the government after an “almost doubling” in the country’s coronavirus test positivity rate and the discovery of 68 cases of the Indian variant including some with a mutation previously seen in Nepal.
“We just don’t know the potential for that to be a vaccine-defeating mutation,” Mr Shapps said, “and simply don’t want to take the risk as we come up to 21 June and the review of the fourth stage of the unlock.”
Meanwhile, PHE also said that overall infections had leapt in the UK. Officials recorded a further 18 deaths and 5,274 new cases of Covid on Thursday – the highest single-day infection figure since 26 March.
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