The worrying Indian coronavirus variant which is rapidly spreading in parts of the UK could already be dominant in London and the North West, according to new data.
Cases of the B.1.617.2 variant have more than doubled in the UK - from 520 to 1,313 - in a week as England prepares to ease its lockdown and experts warn the strain will "get everywhere" in the country.
It is "certainly possible" the Indian variant could overtake the Kent variant and become the country's dominant strain, expert Dr Duncan Robertson told the Mirror.
By region in England, London had the highest number of confirmed and suspected cases of the mutant variant - 400 as of Wednesday, accounting for almost a third of total Covid cases in the capital.
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