But Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham said he would not welcome local lockdowns to combat the spread of the Indian coronavirus variant. We do believe if we move quickly on vaccination we can take away any risk of a local lockdown.' What is the Indian variant? The second sub-type of the Indian variant – B.1.617.2 – was upgraded to a VOC because of concerns over its spread. Public Health England confirmed yesterday that several of the areas in England with the highest infection rates are those where the Indian variant is known to be rampant.

Source: The Nation May 14, 2021 11:03 UTC