Five Brits die of new Arcturus Covid strain spreading across the world
dailyrecord.co.ukFive people in the UK have died after catching the new Arcturus strain of Covid-19, according to UK health officials.The new variant, an off-shoot of the Omicron variant of the disease, is spreading across the world.
According to the UK Health and Security Agency (UKHSA), the variant is now making its way across the UK, The Mirror reports.The latest technical briefing from the UKHSA says there were at least 135 cases of Arcturus, officially labelled Omicron XBB.1.16, across all four UK nations.
In Scotland, five cases of the new strain have been detected as of April 17.There are 120 cases in England, eight in Wales and two in Northern Ireland.
Around a quarter of the English cases, 31, were reported among people aged 60 and above – but officials have cautioned that the data is based almost entirely on PCR tests carried out in hospitals after community testing ended last year.The vast majority of Arcturus cases have been detected in India, where 2,115 cases have been reported, while hundreds have been identified in the USA, Singapore and the USA.
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