Philippines Covid variant arrives in UK - alert as dozens of new cases found by PHE
A NEW Philippines Covid variant has been identified in Britain for the first time after two cases were found.
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Concerns have been raised that vaccines may not be as effective against emerging Covid variants.
The new strain has been designated as a variant under investigation (VUI) rather than a variant of concern, such as the Manaus strain.
Public Health England said one of the cases was linked to international travel and the other is still being investigated, but did not confirm where either had been found.
It came after the Philippines reported 33 cases of a new variant on March 9.
PHE said: "On March 9, PHE noted a report of 33 cases of a new variant reported by the Philippines."
It added: "The variant includes a number of notable mutations including E484K and N501Y, which are found in several other variants of concern.
"Public Health England has identified two cases of this variant in England.
"One of the cases is linked with international travel and the other is currently under investigation.
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"All appropriate public health interventions are being undertaken."
The Manaus case in the West Midlands was identified in a passenger arriving at Birmingham Airport when they were tested as part of their hotel quarantine process.
The London case was picked up through previous surge testing.
PHE said surge testing would be stepped up and both area and contact tracing teams are investigating to identify any further contacts.
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It brings the total number of Manaus cases in the UK to 12, all of which have had links to travel from Brazil.
The Philippines, which has a population of 108 million, has recorded 12,000 Covid deaths and 627,000 cases.
The Government said in a statement: "A new variant has been designated a Variant Under Investigation (VUI) by Public Health England (PHE).
"On March 9, PHE noted a report of 33 cases of a new variant reported by the Philippines. The variant includes a number of notable mutations including E484K and N501Y, which are found in several other Variants of Concern.
"PHE has identified 2 cases of this variant in England. One of the cases is linked with international travel and the other is currently under investigation. All appropriate public health interventions are being undertaken.
"This variant has been designated VUI-21MAR-02 (P.3). PHE and international partners continue to monitor the situation closely."
Over the last 24 hours, the UK has recorded another 110 coronavirus-related deaths and 5,294 new cases.
A total of 125,690 people have also now died within 28 days of a positive test for COVID-19.
Meanwhile, 24,839,906 people have now had at least one dose of a COVID vaccine.