A new variant of Coronavirus has started spreading across the world, with a number of cases being found in the North West.
The UK Health Security Agency has said there have been 120 cases of the Arcturus virus, a new Omicron sub-variant, as of April 17. The virus has spread across the country and is present in all but one region - the North East.
The virus has caused five deaths in the UK so far, according to the same statistics. London is the current hotspot, with 31 confirmed cases.
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That’s followed by the North West with 22 cases, then the South East with 19, and the east of England with 10. Wales has eight cases, the west midlands has six, Scotland has five, the East Midlands four, the South West three, Northern Ireland two, Yorkshire and the Humber one, and the North East none.
Five deaths have been recorded among more than 100 sequenced cases of the new Omricon subvariant XBB.1.16, also known as Arcturus, in England, according to the latest data from the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA). The new variant has been linked to a surge in cases in India, where ministers have reintroduced face mask rules in an attempt to quell the spread.
The latest technical briefing on Covid variants states that 105 sequenced cases of XBB.1.16 have been identified in England, with cases located in every region apart from the north east. Among these cases, there were five deaths, the UKHSA said.
Cases included 54 males, 50 females and one whose gender was not recorded, and the average age was 74 years old. London recorded the most cases with 30, while the North West region recorded the second most, with 22.
The new variant is reportedly 1.2 times more infectious than the Omicron variant, according to a study by the University of Tokyo published on the biology research website bioRxiv.
Reports have suggested that conjunctivitis - an eye infection causing redness, itchiness and swelling in the eyes - has been discovered in a number of paediatric cases of the new variant.
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