The Public Health England (PHE) has reported a newly identified fast-spreading strain of the Covid-19 virus. Currently, there are 16 confirmed cases of this new strain.
People in England wearing masks to combat the pandemic.
Health officials are currently investigating the new variant identified as B.1.621.
“So far, there have been 16 confirmed cases of B.1.621 across the United Kingdom, most of which are linked to international travel,” according to a statement from PHE. “There is also no indication that this variant causes more severe illness or reduces the effectiveness of the vaccines currently in use.”
PHE also released data showing that the number of Delta variant cases has increased by 33,716 compared to the previous week, bringing the total number of cases of this variant in England to 286,765.
As of now, the global death toll related to Covid-19 has surpassed 4.1 million, with the number of cases approaching 200 million.
