(Sky News) A “new variant” of coronavirus has been identified in the UK, which is believed to be causing the faster spread in the South East, Health Secretary Matt Hancock has said.
More than 1,000 cases of the new variant have been found, “predominantly in the south of England”, Mr Hancock told the House of Commons this afternoon.
It is spreading faster than the existing strain of coronavirus and believed to be fuelling the “very sharp, exponential rises” in cases across the South East, he said.
So far it has been found in 60 local authority areas and is thought to be similar to the mutation discovered in other countries in recent months.
