Covid scientists raise alarm over new variant as UK hospitalisations jump 30 per cent

A warning has been issued over a new Covid variant after UK hospitalisations jumped by 30 per cent. Scientists have raised the alarm that the new variant could be responsible for the sudden increase.

KP.3 emerged in early April and belongs to a new group of variants, known collectively as FLiRT. The variant's names was inspired by the mutations in the genetic code of the variant.

They are a spin-off from JN.1, a variant that could transmit efficiently through an additional one or two mutations. Three strings of the FLiRT variant have been responsible for 40 per cent of all Covid cases in the UK since April this year.

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These variants are KP.1.1, KP.3 and KP.2, according to the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) data. KP.2 is thought to have driven a wave of infections in May before P.3 almost doubled UK infections to 44 per cent in less than two weeks, The Mirror reports.

Hospital admissions rose by 24 per cent in the week to Sunday, from 2.67 people per 100,000 to 3.31 per 100,000, according to new figures from the UKHSA.

The highest hospital admission rate for confirmed Covid case continues to be in those aged over 85, increasing to 34.70 per 100,000 following a short interval of decreases. Increases also occurred for those aged between 65 and 74, in those aged between 75 and 84, as well as most of the younger age groups.

A reason for this is thought to be the diminishing immunity of the general population. Prof Lawrence Young, a virologist at Warwick University, told i: "This is a wake-up call. The virus hasn’t gone away and is certainly not a seasonal infection."

Prof Steve Griffin, of Leeds University, said: "Another wave [of Covid] is building. There is a considerable difference between the current vaccines and circulating viruses."