Matt Hancock reveals 'new variant' of Coronavirus has been identified in UK
He announced the news this afternoon in a briefing to the House of Commons
Last updated 23rd May 2022
Health Secretary Matt Hancock announced today that a new variant of coronavirus has been identified in the UK, which may be linked to the steep rise of infections in the South of England.
Addressing the House of Commons, Mr. Hancock said, "Over the last few days, thanks to our world-class genomic capability in the UK, we have identified a new variant of coronavirus which may be associated with the faster spread in the South of England.''
He warned: "Initial analysis suggests that this variant is growing faster than the existing variants.
"We've currently identified over 1,000 cases with this variant predominantly in the South of England although cases have been identified in nearly 60 different local authority areas.
"And numbers are increasing rapidly.''
Speaking on how the findings would impact the vaccination programme currently being rolled out across the UK, he said: "I must stress at this point that there is currently nothing to suggest that this variant is more likely to cause serious disease and the latest clinical advice is that it's highly unlikely that this mutation would fail to respond to a vaccine, but it shows we've got to be vigilant and follow the rules and everyone needs to take personal responsibility not to spread this virus.
"I need to tell the House that over the last week, we've seen very sharp, exponential rises in the virus across London, Kent, parts of Essex and Hertfordshire.
"We do not know the extent to which this is because of the new variant but no matter its cause we have to take swift and decisive action which unfortunately is absolutely essential to control this deadly disease while the vaccine is rolled out.''
This announcement comes following the decision to move Greater London, the South and West of Essex and the South of Hertfordshire into tier three, England's highest tier, from one minute past midnight on Wednesday.
Discussing the urgency for action, the health secretary stated: "when the virus moves quickly, we must move quickly too and we must take the actions that are not necessarily easy but are effective."
Under tier three restrictions, all hospitality venues including pubs, bars, restaurants and cafes, must close. Only takeaway service can continue to operate.
Speaking of the effect of these measures on London's economy, a representative from The Cities of London and Westminster said: "I am bitterly disappointed in what we're having to go through in London at the moment.
"I have been fighting hard against having Tier 3 imposed on us but, having seen the data, I now accept that it is necessary to protect our NHS and our health.
"However, there is no doubt that Tier 3 restrictions will have devastating economic consequences for central London - especially on our hospitality sector and will be hard on residents here as well.
"I've seen our pubs, bars and restaurants working incredibly hard under very difficult circumstances to keep us all safe, and this is going to hurt them.''
Lockdown 2020 memories
Clap for Carers
Taking place every Thursday night at 8pm, households across the UK and Ireland stepped outside their front doors to thank all key workers throughout the pandemic, clapping along for one minute with neighbours!
The final Clap for Carers took place on the 28th May with the campaign's creator Annemarie Plas thanking everybody for taking part in their masses.
The Daily Coronavirus Briefing
It became the highlight of the day, switching on our TVs at 5pm to see the daily Coronavirus briefing live from Downing Street!
Whether it was Boris himself, Chris Witty, Matt Hancock or Rishi Sunak, million tuned in everyday throughout lockdown to get an update on the figures and rules.
Captain Sir Tom Moore
He was the army veteran who stole the hearts of the nation in lockdown, raising over £30 million for the NHS by walking 100 laps of his garden ahead of his 100th birthday!
Captain Tom has now received a knighthood from the Queen, and there's going to be a movie made about his amazing life!
PE with Joe Wicks
Ahh... The lovely Joe Wicks! The Body Coach become the nation's PE teacher with his daily workouts on his YouTube page, with people of all ages getting involved throughout lockdown to keep fit!
Joe decided to donate all profits made to the NHS, with the fitness fanatic going on to raise a massive £580,000 following 78 workouts and 80 million views.
Rainbow pictures in windows
They brightened up our windows, doors, walls and let's face it, our days during lockdown!
The colourful designs first started to pop up when Boris Johnson announced the closure of schools, with children being urged to create the pictures to 'spread hope'.
Furlough
A word most of us had never heard of before 2020... But 'furlough' was one of the most-used terms throughout lockdown, after Chancellor Rishi Sunak announced the scheme would pay for 80% of wages for people who were unable to work during lockdown.
Working from home
For those of us who weren't furloughed, working from home became the norm for a LOT of people!
Rolling out of bed five minutes before your shift, wearing your PJ bottoms in Zoom calls, and watching Netflix whilst 'working' isn't too bad after all is it?
Toilet roll shortage
Absolutely nobody saw this one coming! A world pandemic and people start hoarding... TOILET ROLL!
Yep, we still can't get our heads around this one!
Tiger King
It was the crazy Netfix series that had the world hooked during lockdown... Even if it feels like years ago since we watched the rivalry between Joe Exotic and Carol Baskin!
Homeschooling
After Boris Johnson announced the closure of schools, many parents were left having to homeschool their children, making us all realise just how hard Key Stage 2 maths really is!
Daily walks
It was the one time of the day we were allowed out of the house, so millions of people in the UK made the most of their daily walks!
Baking
If you were lucky enough to find flour on the supermarket shelves, you probably baked some form of banana bread, cookie or brownie during lockdown!
We are basically all Mary Berry now yeah?
Cutting each other's hair
Admit it, you had a go either cutting your own hair or somebody else's hair during lockdown, and it wasn't always 'salon standard'.
Panic buying
Not only was toilet roll sold out practically everywhere, people started to panic buy items such as pasta, rice, flour and eggs, leaving supermarket shelves empty!
Chanel the Parrot
For about three days, everyone in the UK was obsessed with the parrot Chanel, after her owner Sandra Hannah posted a video on Facebook asking for people in her local area in Liverpool to keep an eye out as Chanel had flown away. Thankfully, she was found soon after, and the pair even appeared on This Morning together for an interview with Holly and Phillip!
Zoom quizzes
"Who is making the quiz this week?"
Quizzes become the main source of entertainment through lockdown, with many people making and participating a variety of different daily quizzes.
There's one thing for sure, our IQ has improved!
Normal People
If you didn't fall in love with Normal People's Connell and Marianne during lockdown, were you even in lockdown?
DIY
Our homes were given about 50 makeovers and have never been cleaner!
BBQs
Albeit it was with members of your households, but due to the lovely weather we received in lockdown, BBQs were a very popular choice for dinner!
Bingo
Whether it was over Zoom, in the street, or just a game with your household, classic game Bingo helped us kill some hours during lockdown.
FaceTime with friends and family
As Boris announced we couldn't socialise with anybody outside of our households, Zoom calls and FaceTimes with family and friends were the only way to keep in contact with loved ones!
Whether it was 10 minute catch-up or a three hour de-brief, where would we be without them?
Wardrobe sort-outs
We finally had time to clear out our wardrobes and find items of clothing we actually forgot about!
Spending valuable time with family
Although lockdown had a lot of negatives, the shining light of the pandemic meant we could spend valuable time with our families, something our usual hectic lifestyles don't often allow.