New variant Covid cases up 30% in Yorkshire and the Humber - ONS survey suggests

The latest Office for National Statistics (ONS) Covid-19 Infection Survey, which gives figures for infections in private households, suggests the percentage of cases compatible with the new variant is up by almost 30 per cent in the region.

Health Secretary Matt Hancock announced in mid-December that experts had identified a new variant of coronavirus which he said may have been responsible for the “faster spread” in south-east England.

This week, as he imposed a third national lockdown on England, Boris Johnson said the variant, which is up to 70 per cent more transmissible, was spreading in a “frustrating and alarming” manner.

There were 16,555 coronavirus cases recorded in Yorkshire and The Humber in the seven days to January 2, the latest available figures.

Of those cases, 27 per cent were estimated to be genetically compatible with the new variant

The estimate is up 28.6 per cent from the last ONS survey, which covered the seven days to December 18.

The ONS said Yorkshire and the Humber had the lowest percentage of recent cases compatible with the new variant in England.

Around eight in 10 recent positive cases of Covid-19 in London and eastern England could be the new UK variant, while two other regions with estimates above 50 per cent were south-east England (67 per cent) and south-west England (53 per cent).

The ONS and the University of Oxford test swabs for three genes present in coronavirus: N protein, S protein and ORF1ab.

The new variant of Covid-19 has genetic changes in the S-gene. This means the S-gene is no longer detected in the current test, and cases that would have previously been positive on all three genes are now positive only on the ORF1ab and the N-gene.

Using this information, scientists can measure how many positive cases are compatible with the new variant.

The survey findings are usually published every Friday but an early release was made this week “due to the national situation” and in the public interest, the ONS said.

In an announcement on Tuesday, it revealed its estimate that 1.1 million people in private households in England had Covid-19 between December 27 and January 2 – the equivalent of around 2.06 per cent of the population, or one in 50 people.

It comes as West Yorkshire council bosses issued a fresh plea for residents to stay at home as cases of the new variant spread.

West Yorkshire Prepared, the region’s Local Resilience Forum, met yesterday amid rising infection rates and hospital admissions across the county.

Robin Tuddenham, co-Chair of West Yorkshire Prepared and Chief Executive of Calderdale Council, said: “It is a very serious and stark situation.

"At the moment, we have a very small window of time in which to take action – so it is imperative that we act now.

"We’re hopeful the national lockdown has been introduced in time but everyone needs to do even more than they did last March, during the first lockdown, if we’re to prevent infection rates spiralling out of control and our hospitals being pushed to the brink.”