The BA.2 variant of coronavirus, a lineage of Omicron, is under investigation by UK health authorities after it was found to be behind hundreds of new cases.
Unlike the original Omicron variant, which accounts for the majority of cases in the UK, BA.2 does not have the specific mutation that would be helpful to easily distinguish it from Delta.
Some 426 cases of BA.2 have been identified in England, with 146 in London and 97 in the South East, the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) said. Only 53 cases had been detected by 10 January.
Meanwhile, the chair of the Royal College of GPs said mandatory vaccination for NHS workers in England was “not the right way forward”.
Martin Marshall said up to 80,000 (10 per cent) of staff were not fully vaccinated. Barring them from the workplace would have “massive consequences” for the NHS, he told the BBC.
He called for a delay to the 1 April deadline to allow time for booster jabs and a “sensible conversation” about whether vaccines should be compulsory.
-Independent
