Johnson says UK virus variant is deadlier

LONDON – The variant of the coronavirus that has swept Britain and beyond in recent months could be deadlier and more communicable, Prime Minister Boris Johnson said on Friday.

The news came as the United Kingdom (UK) records record deaths from Covid-19, following an increase in cases and hospitalizations since the variant was first identified in south-east England in September.

The strain has also spread to more than 60 countries, including China, where the pandemic began more than a year ago, according to the World Health Organization (WHO).

“In addition to spreading more rapidly, there now also appears to be some evidence that the new variant … may be associated with a higher degree of mortality,” Johnson told a news conference.

He blamed the variant on the grim situation engulfing Britain, where a further 1,401 deaths were announced on Friday, bringing the total to 95,981, the highest in Europe.

Deaths from viruses have risen 16 percent over the past week, while the number of people hospitalized with Covid-19 is close to double the number seen during the worst days of the first wave of the pandemic in April.

Chief government scientist Patrick Vallance said the new variant could be 30 to 40 percent more deadly for some age groups, though he emphasized that the assessment was based on scant data.

“There is a lot of uncertainty surrounding these numbers and we need more work to handle it accurately, but it is obviously cause for concern,” he said, flanking Johnson on Downing Street.

“You will also see that in different age groups, a similar type of relative increase in risk.”

However, Mike Ryan, executive director of the WHO health emergencies program, said he had not yet seen evidence that the variant is more lethal.

“What we are seeing is that if you infect more people, more people will become seriously ill, and if more people become seriously ill, more people will die,” he added.

“Increased incidence leads to higher mortality.”

‘Signs of improvement’

Britain is in the grip of its third and worst wave of the virus.

The country is pinning its hopes of returning to normal later this year on the largest vaccination program in its history, which began last month.

Johnson revealed that 5.4 million people had received their first dose of two vaccines that are currently administered, with a daily record of 400,000 people inoculated in the last 24 hours.

“All current evidence continues to show that both the vaccines we are currently using are still effective against both the old variant and this new variant,” he added.

The government appears to be on track to meet its commitment to vaccinate 15 million of the most vulnerable by mid-February.

It also aims to inoculate the entire adult population no later than September.

England has been in a third nationwide lockdown since the beginning of this month, with similar restrictions in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, where decentralized administrations are responsible for health policy.

New data from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) released on Friday showed that the stay-at-home order had helped cause a slight drop in infection rates in England last week.

On average, one in 55 people contracted the virus there, rising to one in 35 in London, it found.

However, medical director Chris Whitty warned that despite “signs of improvement”, cases remained “at a very high level” and hospitals were still in danger of being overwhelmed.

The government said on Friday it was launching a new national campaign with hospital staff and Covid-19 patients, in an attempt to remind the public of the extreme pressures that the state health service still faces.

The “emotional” TV ad “challenges audiences to think about the impact their actions could have by asking, ‘Can you look them in the eye and tell them that you’re helping by staying home?'”

/ MUF

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