Health workers carry the body of a man who died of coronavirus (COVID-19) from an ambulance for burial at a cemetery in New Delhi, India, on April 16, 2021. REUTERS / Danish Siddiqui
British health officials are investigating a COVID-19 variant that originated in India but does not yet have enough evidence to classify it, Susan Hopkins of Public Health England (PHE) said on Sunday.
Hopkins told the BBC’s Andrew Marr show: “We do not yet have enough information on this variant to clarify whether it is a source of concern. We have identified it as a variant under investigation. . “
“To increase it on the rankings, we need to know that it’s increased transmission, increased severity or evasion of vaccines, and we just do not have it yet, but we look at the data daily.”
PHE said it had identified 77 cases of the variant in Britain.
Earlier, Environment Minister George Eustice said Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s trip to India later this month should continue despite increasing cases in the country.
“It is important that business and politics continue, if you will,” he said, adding that an expert committee may from time to time make decisions about travel to certain countries.
Our standards: the principles of the Thomson Reuters Trust.