Cases of the B.1.617.2 variant increased to 520 from 202 over the last week, PHE said, mainly in London and the northwest town of Bolton, with almost half the cases related to contact with a traveller. “I think we’ve got to be very careful about that,” UK PM Boris Johnson told reporters, in reference to the variant, Reuters reported. The B.1.617 has also been classified as a VOC and the Union health ministry on Wednesday said the variant was found in 1,504 samples that were sequenced, compared to 1,391 samples that showed the UK variant. Experts said the UK data confirmed the B.1.617.2 may be fitter. “The rate of growth of B.1.617.2 against B.1.1.7 seems to be similar to the rate at which B.1.1.7 replaced the previous variant.

Source: Hindustan Times May 08, 2021 01:05 UTC