Public Health England (PHE) on Thursday said a new coronavirus had been identified in the UK in two people who had recently been in Antigua, adding that it shared some traits of other variants but would not be categorized as concerning for now.
The health authority said the variant, know as VUI-202103/01 (lineage B.1.324.1) was designated a variant under investigation on March 4 after two cases were found in the South East of England in individuals who had recently travelled to Antigua.
“The variant contains the spike mutations E484K and N501Y, both usually associated with Variants of Concern (VOC), however it does not feature specific deletions that would lead to a designation as a VOC,” PHE said in a statement.