Delta Plus: the Liverpool region with the highest proportion of new COVID-19 mutation revealed

The mutated form of coronavirus known as ‘Delta Plus’ is continuing its advance across England.

The strain, officially named AY.4.2, spreads more easily than other variants and now accounts for more than half of analysed cases in one part of England.

Officials designated the strain a ‘variant under investigation’ on 20 October.

Scientists are still working out whether it is more transmissible or whether there are other factors helping it to spread.

Vaccines are proving as effective against Delta Plus as they are against other Delta variants, two separate studies have found.

And there is “no evidence of increased severity based on risk of hospitalisation or death”, the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) has said.

Preliminary findings from the Wellcome Sanger Institute, one of the research bodies that works with the UKHSA, show potential hotspots for the variant.

It analysed more than 36,000 positive COVID-19 tests from the week to 13 November.

The research is provisional, but gives more localised detail than the official figures published by the UK Health Security Agency.

Delta Plus in Liverpool City Region

According to the research, Knowsley is Livepool City Region’s Delta Plus hotspot, with 24.1% of cases estimated to belong to the new strain.

That is a significant rise from the 13.48% recorded in the previous figures for October.

Wirral is the region’s ‘notspot’ with the lowest percentage of COVID-19 cases (7%) testing as the Delta Plus variant.

The highest percentage of positive coronavirus tests in England that showed the Delta Plus variant was 50.3% in Torridge, Devon

Below are the statistics for Liverpool City Region from the research for the percentage of COVID cases that were the Delta Plus variant for the week to 13 November

The previous recorded figure for the week to 30 October is in brackets for comparison.

• Knowlsey - 24.1% - (13.48%)
• Liverpool - 18.1% - (17.88%)
• Sefton - 16.78% - (9.9%)
• Halton - 16.1% - (17.28%)
• St Helens - 13.2% - (9.24%)
• Wirral - 7.0% - (7.64%)