UK - London

COVID cases up by more than 30% in Britain last week LONDON (AP) — The number of new coronavirus cases across Britain has surged by more than 30% in the last week, new data showed Friday, with cases largely driven by the super infectious omicron variants. AP NEWS

Data released by Britain’s Office for National Statistics showed that more than 3 million people in the U.K. had COVID-19 last week, although there has not been an equivalent spike in hospitalizations. The number of COVID-19 deaths also fell slightly in the last week.

UK to offer vaccines to some gay, bisexual men for monkeypox LONDON (AP) — British health officials will start offering vaccines to some men who have sex with men and are at the highest risk of catching monkeypox , in an effort to curb the biggest outbreak of the disease beyond Africa. AP NEWS

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New COVID-19 variant XE identified: What to know and why experts say not to be alarmed A new COVID-19 variant has been identified in the United Kingdom, but experts say there is no cause for alarm yet. ABC News ABC News

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The variant, known as XE, is a combination of the original BA.1 omicron variant and its subvariant BA.2. This type of combination is known as a "recombinant" variant.

U.K. reaches record Covid levels, with nearly 5 million cases The surge is driven by the more transmissible omicron variant BA.2, which is the dominant variant across the U.K. NBC News

LONDON — The prevalence of Covid-19 in the U.K. has reached record levels, with about 1 in 13 people estimated to be infected with the virus in the past week, according to the latest figures from Britain’s official statistics agency.