Delta coronavirus variant 60 per cent more transmissible, says UK

British government said on Friday that the Delta variant of coronavirus is 60 per cent more transmissible than the variant that forced the lockdown in January.

The Delta variant has caused a rise in cases in Britain, prompting questions about whether social distancing restrictions will be lifted as planned from June 21.

New research from Public Health England "suggests that the Delta variant is associated with an approximately 60 percent increased risk of household transmission" compared to the Alpha variant first identified in southeast England.

In UK, there have been 42,323 cases of the Delta variant so far.

The Alpha variant caused a surge of Covid cases in January before a mass vaccine campaign, leading to a three-month lockdown as hospitals were stretched to near-capacity.

The government has ramped up its vaccine drive. Nearly 41 million first doses and nearly 29 million second doses have been administered.

This means 43 percent of the total population are fully vaccinated and 18 percent are half vaccinated.

However, the cases are rising again with new daily infections hitting 7,393 on Thursday, a level not seen since February. 

More than 90 percent of new cases were of the Delta variant, the government said.

However, the number of patients in hospital remains low, at just over 1,000 on Thursday, and Health Secretary Matt Hancock has said most in-patients are people who are unvaccinated.

The government said this suggested the vaccination programme is mitigating the impact of the Delta variant, urging the public to get both jabs.

(With inputs from agencies)