THE NEW strain of Covid that’s ripping through London and the South is up to 70 per cent more contagious, Boris Johnson said today.
The “frighteningly transmissable” variation has burst the Christmas bubble for millions of Brits and forced the area into a new Tier 4 lockdown.
It is also feared to have first emerged in London and the South East as early as September, Chief Scientific Officer Sir Patrick Vallance said at the Downing Street briefing.
The strain – called VUI202012/01 – has caused cases to double in a week in the capital as it buckles under the new variant.
The weekly average case rate is also up 66 per cent in two weeks for the rest of the country as the mutant strain tears through Covid hotspots.
Speaking today at a No10 briefing, the Prime Minsiter said the new strain is up to “70 per cent more transmissible” than the original version of the disease”.
He stressed it is early data but told the public “it’s the best we have at the moment”.
Sir Patrick Vallance, Chief Scientific Officer said the new strain as grown very rapidly and urged everyone to act as thought they are infectious, given so many cases are asymptomatic.
“It was first thought to have occurred in mid September in London or Kent,” he said.
“By the middle of November, 27 per cent or so of cases in London and the South East were due to the new variant.
“By December 9, the figures were much higher, 60 per cent of cases in London were the new variant.”
Sir Patrick said not only does the new strain appear to move fast, it has increased it’s ability to transmit and is “beating all others in terms of transmission”.
But the Prime Minister and Sir Patrick both stressed that there is no evidence the new strain is more lethal or likely to cause more severe illness.
London, the South East and East are being moved to a new Tier 4 lockdown different households now banned from mixing on Christmas Day.
Travel and different households mixing will be banned under the new highest level tier – with families elsewhere only allowed to form ‘Christmas bubbles’ on December 25 itself, the PM told the nation today.
He had insisted just five days ago that festive bubbles would go ahead despite mounting pressure after the new mutant strain of Covid was identified.
The variant can spread more rapidly and has been blamed for a sudden surge in hospitalisations.
And there are fears people are catching the virus despite wearing PPE and socially distancing.
The new variant that has been found predominantly in Kent and neighbouring areas – but has spread as far as Scotland.
Professor Chris Whitty, chief medical officer for England, said the UK has informed the World Health Organisation that the new variant coronavirus can spread more rapidly.
He explained previously: “There is no current evidence to suggest the new strain causes a higher mortality rate or that it affects vaccines and treatments, although urgent work is under way to confirm this.
“Given this latest development, it is now more vital than ever that the public continue to take action in their area to reduce transmission.”
