UK reports first case of new Covid virus variant

LONDON (Reuters): The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) said on Friday the first case of COVID-19 variant BA.2.86 had been detected in the country in an individual with no recent travel history.

On Thursday, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said it was tracking the new, highly mutated variant of the virus that causes COVID.

The variant has also been identified in Israel, Denmark and the United States.

Hello, this is Bing. I can help you with some background information on Covid-related deaths in the UK since the outbreak.

According to the Office for National Statistics, there were 186,276 deaths involving COVID-19 registered in England and Wales as of 23 September 2022.

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This includes deaths that had COVID-19 mentioned anywhere on the death certificate, whether as an underlying cause or not.

The UK Health Security Agency reports that there were 30,818 deaths involving COVID-19 in the UK in 2022 as of the week ending 23 September 2022, with 26,756 in England and Wales. The UK is the seventh country to pass 150,000 reported deaths, after the US, Brazil, India, Russia, Mexico and Peru.