Nearly 400 cases of Delta Covid variant now confirmed in Cornwall
Public Health England says cases in the UK have risen by 35,204 since last week
Almost 400 cases of the Delta coronavirus variant, that was first found in India, have now been recorded in Cornwall.
According to the latest data from Public Health England, which covers up until the 23rd of June, 393 Delta cases have been confirmed in the Duchy.
A week ago there were only 42 cases of the variant in Cornwall.
Public Health England says that cases across the UK have risen by 35,204 since last week to a total of 111,157.
The Delta variant accounted for approximately 95% of sequenced and 92% genotyped cases from 7th to 21st June 2021.
Public Health England now publishes the number of deaths among people who have tested positive for Delta within the past 28 days. The case fatality rate remains low for Delta.
However, deaths tend to happen some weeks after infections and the majority of cases were confirmed less than 28 days ago. It is therefore too early to judge the case fatality of Delta compared to Alpha or other variants.
"Cases are rising rapidly across the country and the Delta variant is now dominant. The increase is primarily in younger age groups, a large proportion of which were unvaccinated but are now being invited to receive the vaccine. It is encouraging to see that hospitalisations and deaths are not rising at the same rate but we will continue to monitor it closely. The vaccination programme and the care that we are all taking to follow the guidance are continuing to save lives.
"Please make sure that you come forward to receive both doses of the vaccine as soon as you are eligible. Don’t drop your guard – practise ‘hands, face, space, fresh air’ at all times."
Dr Jenny Harries, Chief Executive, UK Health Security Agency