Latest: UK government under pressure for Plan B as new Delta strain spreads
A new variant of the Delta coronavirus strain thought to account for 6 per cent of all new UK cases is being closely monitored by scientists.
Sub-variant AY. 4.2 could be 10 to 15 per cent more infectious than the original Delta variant that was first spotted in India in December and has become the dominant Covid-19 strain.
Francois Balloux, director of the University College London Genetics Institute, published an analysis on Twitter suggesting that the data implied it was “intrinsically more transmissible”.
He said that research showed AY. 4.2 could be the most infectious variant of the virus to date. It is expected to be placed under investigation by the World Health Organisation.
An NHS document published on Tuesday revealed the sub-variant was one of four being monitored by scientists working for the UK Health Security Agency.
“A Delta sublineage newly designated as AY. 4.2 is noted to be expanding in England. It is now a signal in monitoring and assessment has commenced,” it said.
“New sublineages of Delta are regularly identified and designated. One recently designated sublineage, AY. 4.2, is not yet assigned by the Pangolin tool and therefore is not represented in Figure 10.
“This sublineage is currently increasing in frequency. It includes spike mutations A222V and Y145H. In the week beginning 27 September 2021 (the last week with complete sequencing data), this sublineage accounted for approximately 6 per cent of all sequences generated, on an increasing trajectory.”
Full WHO investigations could lead to it being assigned a Greek letter under its naming system, in the same way other variants of Covid-19 have been up to now.
More work was needed to fully understand its potential for disruption.
“It's good that we are aware. It's excellent that we have the facilities and infrastructure in place to see anything that might be a bit suspicious,” Mr Balloux said. “At this stage, I would say wait and see, don't panic. It might be slightly, subtly more transmissible but it is not something absolutely disastrous like we saw previously.”
Cases of Covid-19 in the UK are higher now that at the same time in 2020, when England still enforced local lockdowns.
On Tuesday, the UK Department of Health recorded 223 deaths, the highest level since March 9. However, infections had dropped to 43,738 after reaching almost 50,000 a day previously.
Recorded cases of new infections are outstripping some European countries and causing concern as winter approaches.
Experts said the UK’s steep rise in Covid infections could be a result of waning protection from vaccines.
The UK had one of the earliest and fastest immunisation campaigns, with protection of 90 per cent to 95 per cent from the AstraZeneca and Pfizer vaccines thought to last for about 20 weeks before antibodies begin to drop-off.
The number of people who have tested positive in the UK has steadily risen from a seven-day average of about 25,000 in early August to more than 40,000 cases a day in mid-October.
However, hospital admission rates remain considerably lower than a year ago.
Fewer than 1,000 daily cases end up in hospital now, compared to more than four times that figure 12 months ago, thanks mainly to a widespread vaccination programme through 67 per cent of the population is fully protected.
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SHOW COURTS ORDER OF PLAY
Wimbledon order of play on Tuesday, July 11
All times UAE ( 4 GMT)
Centre Court
Adrian Mannarino v Novak Djokovic (2)
Venus Williams (10) v Jelena Ostapenko (13)
Johanna Konta (6) v Simona Halep (2)
Court 1
Garbine Muguruza (14) v
Svetlana Kuznetsova (7)
Magdalena Rybarikova v Coco Vandeweghe (24)
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Tamkeen's offering
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Engine: 2.5-litre in-line four-cylinder
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Torque: 244Nm @ 4,000rpm
Transmission: Continuously variable tranmission
Fuel consumption, combined: 7.6L / 100km
Teaching your child to save
Pre-school (three - five years)
You can’t yet talk about investing or borrowing, but introduce a “classic” money bank and start putting gifts and allowances away. When the child wants a specific toy, have them save for it and help them track their progress.
Early childhood (six - eight years)
Replace the money bank with three jars labelled ‘saving’, ‘spending’ and ‘sharing’. Have the child divide their allowance into the three jars each week and explain their choices in splitting their pocket money. A guide could be 25 per cent saving, 50 per cent spending, 25 per cent for charity and gift-giving.
Middle childhood (nine - 11 years)
Open a bank savings account and help your child establish a budget and set a savings goal. Introduce the notion of ‘paying yourself first’ by putting away savings as soon as your allowance is paid.
Young teens (12 - 14 years)
Change your child’s allowance from weekly to monthly and help them pinpoint long-range goals such as a trip, so they can start longer-term saving and find new ways to increase their saving.
Teenage (15 - 18 years)
Discuss mutual expectations about university costs and identify what they can help fund and set goals. Don’t pay for everything, so they can experience the pride of contributing.
Young adulthood (19 - 22 years)
Discuss post-graduation plans and future life goals, quantify expenses such as first apartment, work wardrobe, holidays and help them continue to save towards these goals.
* JP Morgan Private Bank
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Lexus LX700h specs
Engine: 3.4-litre twin-turbo V6 plus supplementary electric motor
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Torque: 790Nm from 2,000-3,600rpm
Transmission: 10-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 11.7L/100km
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If you go:
Getting there:
Flying to Guyana requires first reaching New York with either Emirates or Etihad, then connecting with JetBlue or Caribbean Air at JFK airport. Prices start from around Dh7,000.
Getting around:
Wildlife Worldwide offers a range of Guyana itineraries, such as its small group tour, the 15-day ‘Ultimate Guyana Nature Experience’ which features Georgetown, the Iwokrama Rainforest (one of the world’s four remaining pristine tropical rainforests left in the world), the Amerindian village of Surama and the Rupununi Savannah, known for its giant anteaters and river otters; wildlifeworldwide.com
