Five people in England have died from the new COVID variant dubbed Arcturus, the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) has confirmed.
The latest technical briefing on COVID variants in England states that 105 sequenced cases of XBB.1.16 have been identified – 54 were men, 50 women, and one person whose gender was not recorded. The average age was 74.
London recorded the most cases with 30, while the north west region recorded 22. Five cases have been identified in Scotland, eight in Wales, and two in Northern Ireland. No cases have been recorded in the North-east.
The new variant has been linked to a surge in cases of coronavirus in India, with the World Health Organization (WHO) recently classifying it as a variant of interest.
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More information on Arcturus here.