A new "triple mutant" coronavirus variant detected first in Yorkshire was under investigation, but there was no information that would suggest it is "more dangerous or more transmissible," said British Health Secretary Matt Hancock on Saturday.
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Public Health England said on Friday that it was "closely monitoring" the strain, VUI-21MAY-01, which was first detected in April.
There have been 49 cases of VUI-21MAY-01 detected across the country, particularly concentrated around Yorkshire and the Humber, in the north of England.
Britain reported 2,694 new cases of COVID-19 on Saturday, government data showed, meaning there were 17,410 new cases between May 16 and May 22, a rise of 10.5% compared with the previous seven days.
A further six people were reported as having died within 28 days of a positive test for COVID-19, taking the seven-day decrease to 43.1%.
A total of 37.73 million people had received a first dose of a vaccine against coronavirus by May 21 and 22.07 million people had received a second dose.
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