At a time when the world is struggling to cope with the Delta variant, a new strain of coronavirusa has reared its head.
Public Health England has said that 16 confirmed cases of the new variant, known as B.1.621, have been detected in the United Kingdom.
New virus strains are first investigated before being classified as variant of interest or variant of concern. Cuurently this strain is being considered as a signal and its risk assessed, The Independent reported.
Not much is known about this variant till now, but there is no evidence that it could make vaccines less effective or result in more severe illness.
“Most of the cases have been linked to overseas travel and there is currently no evidence of community transmission in the UK,” the report said.
There has been a rise in COVID-19 cases of late, with Britain reporting 31,794 fresh coronavirus infections on Saturday. COVID-related restrictions, however, were lifted six days ago as the government believes vaccination has been working as a result of which there are negligible cases of hospitalization and death.
