BRADFORD's current Covid-19 infection rate is lower than the England average, said a Council health boss.

The news comes in the wake of hospitals and health services struggling to cope with demand over the holiday period and news that Covid variants Orthrus and Kraken could soon become the dominant variants in the UK.

Sarah Muckle, director of public health for Bradford Council, said: “Rates of Covid-19 remain low in the Bradford district compared to other local authorities; the current Covid-19, 7-day infection rate for Bradford district is 28.6 per 100,000 population compared to the England average of 35.9 per 100,000 population.

“Hospitals and health services struggled to cope with demand over the Christmas period because of a combination of flu, Covid-19 and other winter illnesses. We are now seeing this improve, although demand on services remains high.”

Covid variant Orthrus now accounts for just over one-fifth of Covid cases across the UK and the spread of the strain, scientifically called CH.1.1, has snowballed since it was first detected in November.

Health experts have warned that Orthrus — or another Omicron sub-lineage, XBB.1.5, nicknamed the Kraken  — could soon become dominant. 

Experts have stressed that the Kraken – a “sub lineage” of the Omicron variant – is not more dangerous than the original Omicron variant.

But the Kraken and Orthrus do have a “growth advantage” and could become the dominant variants in the UK, experts have said.

At present, the dominant variant in the UK is another Omicron sub-lineage known as BQ.1.

A new technical briefing from the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) states that Kraken “remains at very low prevalence in the UK, so estimates of growth are highly uncertain”.

But it adds: “CH.1.1 (Orthrus) and XBB.1.5 (Kraken) are currently the variants most likely to take over from BQ.1 as the next dominant variant in the UK, unless further novel variants arise.

“Neither have been designated as variants of concern by UKHSA.”

But Ms Muckle added these Covid variants will be closely monitored.

She said: “There is always the possibility of a new variant of Covid-19 becoming dominant and this is closely monitored by the UKHSA in terms of the spread of the virus and the impact any new strain is having on people’s health.

“Vaccination remains the best way to protect yourself and your loved ones from becoming ill from these viruses. It’s not too late to grab a jab this winter.”

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