Ministers were told about the arrival of the Indian coronavirus variant in Britain two weeks before they told the British public. On April 1, Public Health England then designated it a 'variant under investigation' and told ministers straight away. On April 15, when the Government finally announced the presence of the Indian variant in the UK, there were 77 confirmed cases. A PHE official confirmed to the Sunday Times that they informed ministers about the Indian variant on April 1. It continued an 11-day trend of rising case numbers, although overall the infection rate remains low despite the rapid spread of the Indian variant.

Source: The Nation May 30, 2021 11:48 UTC