A WORRYING new strain of Covid is spreading "rapidly" across the globe, experts have warned. XEC was first detected in Germany in June and has since been found in at least 29 countries across Europe , North America and Asia . Scientists don't believe the variant is more deadly than some of its predecessors, but they say it is transmitted more easily.
XEC , a sublineage of Omicron which is said to be " taking charge " globally, is now thought to account for one in 10 cases in England . About 11 per cent of Covid infections are believed to be XEC in Scotland, 13 per cent in Wales , and 24 per cent in Northern Ireland , according to outbreak.info .
Worldwide, the Czech Republic had the highest prevalence of the variant over the last 60 days, with 16 per cent of samples containing XEC. READ MORE ON COVID XEC This was closely followed by Germany, Austria , the Faroe Islands, the Netherlands , Denmark and Portugal . The UK sits in eighth place.
Dr Eric Topol, director of the Scripps Research Translational Institute in California , said: "XEC is definitely taking charge." It adds to growing fears of a winter tripledemic , with Covid, flu and respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) infections rocketing. Most read in Health The hospital admission rate for patients testing positive for Covid-19 stood at 4.
5 per 100,000 people in the week to October 6, up from 3.7 a week earlier. It is the fourth weekly rise in a row, according to data published by the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA).
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