Two cases of new coronavirus variant linked to Philippines found in England

Two cases of a new coronavirus variant linked to the Philippines have been found in England.

The infections with the variant, which was originally reported to health authorities in Asia earlier this month, were confirmed by Public Health England on Tuesday.

The Philippines, which has the second-highest number of coronavirus cases in south-east Asia, has now confirmed at least 98 cases of the variant, which has been named VUI-21MAR-02 (P3).

P3 has currently been designated as a variant under investigation, rather than a variant of concern.

"On 9 March PHE noted a report of 33 cases of a new variant reported by the Philippines," Public Health England said in a statement.

"The variant includes a number of notable mutations including E484K and N501Y, which are found in several other variants of concern.

"Public Health England has identified two cases of this variant in England. One of the cases is linked with international travel, and the other is currently under investigation.

"All appropriate public health interventions are being undertaken. Public Health England and international partners continue to monitor the situation closely."

The Brazilian and South African variants, both of which are believed to be infectious, also share the E484K mutation.

Last weekend, the Filipino health ministry said that current data on the new variant are "insufficient to conclude whether [it] will have significant public health implications".

It came as Public Health England also confirmed two new cases of the P1 variant that was first reported in Brazil, both of which were linked to international travel.

This has taken the number of confirmed cases of the P1 variant to 12.

One of the newly-confirmed cases, in Haringey in London, was picked up by surge testing - which has been stepped up further - while a case in the West Midlands was detected by the Government's hotel quarantine programme.