Covid: New UK strain 'increases R number by up to 0.7' and is most common in under 20s

The new SARS-CoV-2 variant increases the reproduction or 'R' number by between 0.4 and 0.7 and is "growing rapidly". Credit: PA

The new coronavirus strain found in the UK has "substantially higher transmissibility" than other variants and is mostly affecting those aged under 20, a study has found.

The new SARS-CoV-2 variant increases the reproduction or 'R' number by between 0.4 and 0.7 and is "growing rapidly".

If the number is above 1.0 it means each person with the virus will pass it on to more than one other person; the UK's latest R number has been estimated at between 1.1 and 1.3.

On New Year's Day, England recorded its highest number of cases yet, with a jump of 50,746 recorded in 24 hours.

Schools remained open even during lockdown measures in England in November. Credit: PA

Prof Neil Ferguson of Imperial College London, which conducted the study, said the new B.1.1.7 variant "has substantially higher transmissibility than previous SARS-CoV-2 viruses" circulating in the UK.

"This will make control more difficult and further accentuates the urgency of rolling out vaccination as quickly as possible," he said.

Hospitals in the UK are now dealing with more Covid-19 patients than they were during April's peak, with pressures already being felt across the NHS.

The Imperial College study suggests transmission of the new variant tripled during England's November lockdown while the previous version was reduced by a third.It also found that those under 20 years old make up a higher proportion of the new strain - which could have been a result of lockdown being forced across most areas while schools and universities were open.

Prof Axel Gandy, of Imperial College London, called for immunisation to be ramped up, adding: "Everybody that can be vaccinated should be vaccinated. "Until a very high proportion of the population has been vaccinated, strong social distancing measures are needed to control this more transmissible variant of Covid-19."

The new strain of the virus is putting significant pressure on the NHS. Credit: PA

Almost one million people in the UK have been given the coronavirus vaccine so far. New data from the Department of Health shows that 944,539 people received a first dose of the Covid-19 vaccine up to the 27 December.

The R number study findings were co-authored by Imperial College London, University of Edinburgh, Public Health England (PHE), the Wellcome Sanger Institute, the University of Birmingham and the Covid-19 Genomics UK (COG-UK) Consortium+.