New cases of Covid-19 rose sharply in Kingston in the latest data released by Public Health England (PHE) amid concerns surrounding the new 'Indian' variant of the virus.
In the week up to May 19, there were 74 new Covid-19 infections confirmed in Kingston borough.
That reflected a rise of 38, or 105.6 per cent, according to PHE.
It altered the borough's 'rolling rate' of new infections per 100,000 people to 41.7, far higher than the latest England-wide average of 23.2.
The figures furthered concerns that a highly transmissible variant of the virus first discovered in India, named B1617.2, is spreading quickly in England and could fuel an uptick in new Covid cases as restrictions are eased.
Surge testing was recently ordered in several London boroughs including Hounslow, where a presence of the variant is thought to have fuelled a sharp rise in new case numbers.
Our new study shows for the first time that 2 doses of the #COVID19 #vaccines are highly effective against the B.1.617.2 variant first identified in India. Read more: https://t.co/8OGJVyvky6
— Public Health England (@PHE_uk) May 23, 2021
The rapid increase in the number of new infections in the week up to May 19 in Kingston was not reflected in many of its neighbours, however.
In Richmond, for example, new confirmed cases of the virus up to May 19 remained comparatively low (26), the same figure as the previous seven-day period and therefore representing a 0 per cent rise.
New cases were marginally up in Epsom and Ewell, where 14 infections were reported, up 27.3 per cent, and Sutton (28 new cases, up 27.3 per cent).
They fell in Merton over the time period, which recorded 22 new cases, a 37.1 per cent drop on the previous seven-day figure.
Wandsworth reported 55 new cases, an increase of just one or 1.9 per cent on the previous week.
Meanwhile, vaccinations continued apace across the UK as news of their efficacy in preventing the spread of Covid-19 and serious cases of the virus was reported.
The Government said a further three people had died within 28 days of testing positive for Covid-19 as of Monday (May 24), bringing the UK total to 127,724.
Separate figures published by the UK’s statistics agencies show there have been 152,000 deaths registered in the UK where Covid-19 was mentioned on the death certificate.
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