Indian variant goes past 150 cases across region

THERE have been more than 150 cases of the Indian variant of coronavirus recorded in the South West.

The variant of coronavirus first identified in India is now the dominant strain in the UK, Public Health England (PHE) has confirmed.

Cases of the variant have more than doubled in one week in Bristol to 59, have been 28 seven days previously. UK-wide, cases have risen by 5,472 since last week to 13,760, according to PHE’s weekly variant data. Scientists believe the variant, now known as Delta, has overtaken the Kent variant.

They also say there is “early evidence” of a higher risk of hospitalisation linked to the variant, but PHE acknowledged that more data is needed to have more confidence in that.

Across the UK this week, 278 people with the variant attended A&E, resulting in 94 people being admitted to hospital overnight.

Last week, 201 people attended A&E, with 43 admissions.

PHE reported that “the majority” of these people had not been vaccinated.

The most affected areas remain Bolton, where cases have risen by 795 to 2,149, and Blackburn with Darwen which has seen 368 new cases, bringing it to 724 in total.

Elsewhere in the West there were 39 cases in Swindon, 20 in South Gloucestershire, 16 in Gloucester and 15 in Wiltshire.

There were between one and five cases in the following areas: Bath and North East Somerset; Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole; Cheltenham; Cornwall; Exeter; Forest of Dean; Mendip; North Somerset; Plymouth; Somerset West and Taunton; Stroud; Teignbridge and Torquay.

There were no cases recorded in The Cotswolds; Sedgemoor; South Somerset; or Tewkesbury.

PHE reported that there are “encouraging signs” that the transmission rate in Bolton has begun to fall and that the actions taken by residents and local authority teams have been successful in reducing spread.

Dr Jenny Harries, chief executive of the UK Health Security Agency, said: “With this variant now dominant across the UK, it remains vital that we all continue to exercise as much caution as possible.

“The way to tackle variants is to tackle the transmission of Covid-19 as a whole. Work from home where you can, and practise ‘hands, face, space, fresh air’ at all times.

“If you are eligible and have not already done so, please come forward to be vaccinated and make sure you get your second jab. It will save lives.”

Outbreaks and clusters in primary and secondary schools are at low levels but PHE confirms there has been a “slight increase” over recent weeks.

The latest PHE data suggest that there have been 97 confirmed Covid19 outbreaks in UK primary and secondary schools that have had at least one variant case linked to them over the most recent four-week period. This represents around one in 250 schools.