The new COVID-19 strain is spreading faster, says the British medical chief

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FILE PHOTO: This scanning electron microscope image shows SARS-CoV-2 (round blue objects), also known as the new coronavirus, the virus that causes COVID-19, which emerges from the surface of cells grown in the laboratory and which has been isolated from a patient in the US NIAID-RML / Handout via REUTERS. THIS IMAGE WAS PROVIDED BY A THIRD PARTY. MANDATORY CREDIT

LONDON (Reuters) – A new strain of COVID-19 identified in the UK may spread faster and urgent work is underway to confirm that it is not causing a higher death rate, England Chief Medical Officer Chris Whitty said Saturday.

“As announced Monday, the UK has identified a new variant of Covid-19 through Public Health England’s genomic surveillance,” Whitty said in a statement.

“As a result of the rapid spread of the new variant, preliminary model data and rapidly rising incidence rates in the Southeast, the New and Emerging Respiratory Virus Threats Advisory Group (NERVTAG) believes the new strain can spread more quickly.”

Reporting by Michael Holden, published by William Maclean

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