INDIA VARIANT DETECTED IN SCOTLAND
FOUR cases of a new coronavirus variant first discovered in India have been found in Scotland.
Public Health England reported 77 cases of the strain across the UK in its latest weekly data – with four of them detected north of the Border.
The B.1.617 variant is said to carry mutations which could make it easier to spread, with fears it could evade immunity.
It has been suggested the variant has played a part in a recent spike in coronavirus cases in India.
The country recorded a record high of more than 200,000 new daily infections yesterday.
The strain has been identified by health officials are a “variant under investigation”.
A statement from the UK Government says public health interventions will be taken to prevent the strain from spreading further. Enhanced contact tracing will take place in areas where it has been identified.
It remains unclear as to where in Scotland the infections have come from.
The variant was first discovered by scientists in India in March and was described as a “double mutant”.
They suggested the mutation had formed as a hybrid of two other strains.
Other coronavirus strains dubbed as “variants of concern” by Public Health Scotland include ones first discovered in South Africa and Brazil.
Another is the so-called “Kent variant”, which caused the UK to be plunged back into lockdown following a spike in cases over the winter.
Four months of tight restrictions has caused the number of new infections to plummet by 85 per cent compared to those seen in early January.