London is the UK’s Arcturus hotspot (Graphic: Metro.co.uk)
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 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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London is currently the hotspot for Arcturus cases in the UK, with 31 reported cases, but the variant is present in almost all regions.