Figures showing the latest cases of the Arcturus variant of coronavirus have been revealed – and London has the most in the UK.
The new variant, known as XBB.1.16, has emerged across the globe in the last few months and India has seen a sharp rise in cases.
Health ministers in India have reinforced face mask laws and hospitals have been undergoing trial drills to check their preparedness, as the situation gets worse in the country.
The Arcturus variant has been detected in at least 34 countries globally, and as of April 17 there were 120 documented cases in the UK – but this number may have risen since then, The Mirror reports.
So far five people have died with the variant.
London is currently the hotspot for Arcturus cases in the UK, with 31 reported cases, but the variant is present in all regions except for the north east of England.
Arcturus is said to be the most transmissible strain of coronavirus so far, possibly 1.2 times more infectious than the last significant sub-variant, but no more severe than any other.
The variant is thought to have accounted for 2.3% of Covid sequences in the UK between April 3-9.
The full list of Arcturus cases in the UK by region is:
- London: 31 cases
- North west: 22 cases
- South east: 19 cases
- East of England: 10 cases
- Unknown: nine cases
- Wales: eight cases
- Scotland: five cases
- East midlands: four cases
- South west: three cases
- Northern Ireland: two cases
- Yorkshire and the Humber: one case
- North east: no cases
People suffering with the strain in India are also exhibiting symptoms including ‘itchy conjunctivitis or pinkeye’.
Coronavirus symptoms can include:
- a high temperature or shivering (chills) – a high temperature means you feel hot to touch on your chest or back
- a new, continuous cough – this means coughing a lot for more than an hour, or three or more coughing episodes in 24 hours
- a loss or change to your sense of smell or taste
- shortness of breath
- feeling tired or exhausted
- an aching body
- a headache
- a sore throat
- a blocked or runny nose
- loss of appetite
- diarrhoea
- feeling sick or being sick
Dr Vipin Vashishtha, who’s also a member of the World Health Organisation’s vaccine safety net programme, told The Hindustan Times there had been an unusual patterns of patients having pinkeye in cases across the country.
First detected in January, Arcturus started spreading globally in February with around 4,000 cases confirmed – mainly in India (2,271), the United States (446), Singapore (247), Australia (160) and Canada (94).
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