Cases of Indian variant of Covid on rise in West Midlands, health chiefs warn
Health chiefs have warned that the Indian variant of Covid is on the rise in the West Midlands – with more than 150 cases now confirmed.
Dr Sue Ibbotson, Public Health England's director in the West Midlands, said the number of cases of the new variant, which is more easily transmissible, rose by 21 to 157 on May 20.
She said that although the numbers were "relatively low", they were a concern because some of the clusters of cases had no apparent link to foreign travel.
Speaking at a West Midlands Covid briefing, Dr Ibbotson said cases of the Indian variant in the region were "increasing each day but were not yet at the levels seen in the North West".
She said the cases had been identified across local authority areas and that health teams were working hard to contain the spread with additional testing and contact tracing.
"They are relatively low numbers and most of them have a travel link, but of concern is that we can't find a travel link in some of the clusters that we are looking at, which suggests that the virus may have got a wider spread in particular communities," Dr Ibbotson said.
"And we are indeed expecting to see a continuing increase in cases of this variant in the region in the coming days.
"The reason that these albeit low numbers are a concern is that this virus is more transmissible than the UK or so-called Kent variant.
"We believe and hope that the vaccine should be effective against the Indian variant, but we don't yet have quite enough information to be sure about that.
"The greater transmissible nature means that the virus spreads more easily and will find the chinks in the armour of the vaccination in the population.
"And so we are in a race between a spreading variant and the need for as many eligible people as possible to get vaccinated."
She urged people to "remain cautious and take personal responsibility to protect ourselves and others".
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