Covid Arcturus news – live: ‘New symptom’ identified by doctors as new variant cases soar in India

A new coronavirus strain dubbed Arcturus appears to be driving a surge in Covid-19 cases in India, prompting the country to resume vaccine production and sparking fears it could lead to a rise in cases in the UK and elsewhere.

India on Friday recorded 11,109 new Covid infections, the biggest jump in almost a year. The country’s active case count is now up to 49,662.

The XBB.1.16 strain, a sub-variant of Omicron, has been found in 22 countries, including Singapore, Australia, the UK and the US. Research indicates Arcturus could be one 1.2 times more infectious than the last major sub-variant, making it likely to become the dominant strain.

The spread of the strain, first detected in late January in India, is worrying experts, as it seems to exhibit unique symptoms in children, one of which is conjunctivitis.

The symptoms of the variant include high fever, cough, and “itchy” conjunctivitis or pinkeye, according to Vipin Vashishtha, a paediatrician and former head of the Indian Academy of Pediatrics Committee on Immunisation.

Key Points

  • What are the symptoms of the new Covid variant?

  • How many cases of new variant are in UK?

  • What do we know about the new Covid variant?

  • Doctors urge caution: ‘This is one to watch’

What are the symptoms of the new Covid variant?

08:31 , Alisha Rahaman Sarkar

The XBB.1.16 strain, a sub-variant of Omicron, has been found in 22 countries, including Singapore, Australia, the UK and the US.

The variant, dubbed Arcturus, is believed to be responsible for an uptick in infections in India, leading to the government adopting new measures to stop its spread.

The spread of the strain, first detected in late January, is worrying experts, as it seems to exhibit unique symptoms in children, one of which is conjunctivitis.

Vipin Vashishtha, a paediatrician and former head of the Indian Academy of Pediatrics Committee on Immunisation tweeted that “an infantile phenotype” of the variant seems to be emerging.

The symptoms of the variant include high fever, cough, and “itchy” conjunctivitis or pinkeye, she said.

Stuti Mishra reports.

Latest Covid variant sweeping India appears to have this new symptom

India restarts Covid vaccine production

12:00 , Alisha Rahaman Sarkar

India is ramping up its vaccine production following a rapid surge in Covid-19 cases driven by a new subvariant dubbed Arcturus.

Serum Institute of India, the world’s largest vaccine producer, has restarted the manufacture of Covid-19 vaccines, the chief executive Adar Poonawalla said.

The Pune-based company produces AstraZeneca vaccines under the label Covishield, which constitutes at least 70 per cent of the Covid vaccines administered in the country.

“Just as a precaution, we have done it so that people have Covishield as a choice if they want it,” Mr Poonawalla told the Press Trust of India.

More here.

India restarts Covid vaccine production as new infections soar 30% in one day

How many cases of new variant are in UK?

11:30 , Alisha Rahaman Sarkar

A new Covid strain dubbed Arcturus which is driving a surge of infections in India has been detected in the UK.

Although Arcturus has been detected in the UK, it is not spreading on the same scale – with the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) saying that 66 cases have been recorded up to 11 April.

Comparatively, 57,842 overall Covid infections were recorded in the week up to Thursday, a 20 per cent drop from the previous seven days.

Eleanor Noyce reports.

Arcturus: How many cases of new variant are in UK?

Covid no longer: Leading cause of death in England and Wales revealed

11:00 , Alisha Rahaman Sarkar

Covid-19 has dropped out of the top five leading causes of death in England and Wales for the first time since the start of the pandemic, figures show.

Coronavirus was recorded as the main cause of death for 22,454 people in 2022, or 3.9 per cent of all deaths registered, making it the sixth leading cause overall.

In both 2020 and 2021 Covid-19 was the leading cause of death, with 73,766 deaths (12.1 per cent of the total) and 67,350 (11.5 per cent) respectively.

More here.

Covid no longer: Leading cause of death in England and Wales revealed

World’s largest vaccine maker ramps up production

10:18 , Alisha Rahaman Sarkar

Adar Poonawalla, the chief executive of Serum Institute of India (SII) told The Independent in a statement that the company has “resumed the production of the Covid-19 vaccine, Covishield, in response to the increasing number of SARS-CoV-2 virus infections.”

“The company also has six million doses of the Covovax vaccine, which are readily available to private hospitals depending on the demand and can also be used as heterologous booster doses,” he added.

“The company has taken this precautionary measure to ensure that people have the option of Covishield if they choose.”

Stuti Mishra reports.

Doctors urge caution: ‘This is one to watch’

09:40 , Alisha Rahaman Sarkar

Professor Paul Hunter, an infectious diseases expert based at the University of East Anglia, told MailOnline that the variant is unlikely to cause a big wave.

“I suspect we will see a wave of infections with this variant,” professor Hunter said. “I doubt it will cause a big wave, probably not even as great as the one we have just had in the UK.”

Professor Lawrence Young, a virologist from the University of Warwick, told The Independent that the cases need to be monitored.

“These kinds of things highlight the importance of genomic surveillance but a lot of countries including our own have let our guards down a bit.

“And we can’t be sure what variants are around and what level of infection they are causing until we see a significant outbreak.”

Maria Van Kerkhove, WHO’s technical lead on Covid, said, “this is one to watch”. She added that health experts haven’t seen “a change in severity in individuals or in populations”.

India records highest number of cases in months

09:30 , Alisha Rahaman Sarkar

India on Friday recorded 11,109 new Covid infections, the biggest rise in cases for almost a year. The country currently has 49,622 active cases, according to the federal health ministry.

The southern state of Kerala reported 3,420 cases, while the capital Delhi and Maharashtra in the west logged 1,159 and 1,115 cases respectively.

There were 29 Covid-related deaths recorded in 24 hours.

Fears new ‘Arcturus’ Covid variant could become dominant in UK

08:52 , Alisha Rahaman Sarkar

Virologist Dr Stephen Griffin from the University of Leeds said Arcturus is growing at a faster rate than other variants and is “rapidly outcompeting” others in India.

He added that the new variant, which is now spreading globally, is particularly concerning because of limitations in genomic sequencing and tracking, leaving the UK “completely in the dark” after it stopped publishing ONS Covid case figures last month.

So far in the UK, Arcturus accounts for just 0.4 per cent of cases, according to the GISAID virus sequencing database – but that proportion is expected to increase considerably.

“Arcturus has a growth advantage of about 1.2 compared to what we’ve had recently,” Dr Griffin told The Independent.

“It’s conceivable it could outcompete what we’ve had recently but there are other variants in the mix so it’s hard to know which one will become dominant.”

Thomas Kingsley reports.

Fears new ‘Arcturus’ Covid variant could become dominant in UK

08:01 , Alisha Rahaman Sarkar

Welcome to The Independent’s live blog tracking the uptick in Covid-19 cases in India and across the world.

Video | What is the new Covid variant causing a surge in cases?

12:20 , Alisha Rahaman Sarkar

The new Covid strain, Arcturus, is already causing a surge of cases in India, and it’s thought to be 1.2 times more contagious than the last Omicron subvariant.

It’s been detected in 22 countries so far including the UK and US, with India reporting 49,622 active Covid cases on 14 April - prompting strict measures to be brought back.

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