British Prime Minister Boris Johnson speaks during a televised press conference at 10 Downing Street on February 22, 2021 in London, England.
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LONDON — U.K. Prime Minister Boris Johnson warned Friday that the coronavirus variant first discovered in India has the potential to derail the lockdown easing currently underway in the country.
The U.K. will now accelerate second doses of vaccines for the over-50s and the clinically vulnerable due to concerns about the variant from India.
Speaking at a news conference Friday, Johnson said the variant looked to be more transmissible than other variants, but cautioned that it wasn’t clear by how much. England’s Chief Medical Officer Chris Whitty, speaking alongside Johnson, added that there’s “confidence” it’s “more transmissible” than the strains already circulating in the country.
Whitty said: “Earlier this week we said that we thought that it was as transmissible as B.1.1.7 and possibly even more so. There is now confidence … that this variant is more transmissible than B.1.1.7.”
The B.1.1.7 variant, known as the U.K. or Kent strain, has an unusually high number of mutations and is associated with a more efficient and rapid transmission of the coronavirus. British scientists first detected this mutation in September last year and by April it had become the dominant strain in the U.S.
Johnson added that there was currently no evidence that the variant would evade the vaccines that are being deployed across the country.
“But I have to level with you, this new variant could pose a serious disruption to our progress,” Johnson said.
“And I must stress that we will do whatever it takes to keep the public safe.”
Data on the new variant published Thursday by Public Health England showed that the number of cases across the U.K. had risen from 520 last week to 1,313 this week, with most cases concentrated in northwest England and a few clusters in London.
The U.K.’s vaccine rollout has been one of the fastest in the world, with almost 70% of the adult population having received at least one shot. Vaccines are available to anyone over age 38, but the government has said they could be made available to younger people living in multigenerational households.
The next phase of England’s exit from lockdown is scheduled for Monday, when indoor socializing, hospitality and entertainment will resume.
—CNBC’s Elliot Smith contributed to this article.
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