London

As Britain continues to battle the virus, the country reported over 40,000 coronavirus cases amid rising hospitalisation cases.

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Reports said the rate of hospitalisation has touched the highest since March. Amid the rising cases, UK's Health Security Agency (UKHSA) announced that the AY.4.2 variant has been designated as a "variant under investigation".

Also Read: Johnson rules out the possibility of lockdown

The health agency said the variant "may have an increased growth rate in the UK compared to Delta".

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The Delta variant has been the dominant strain in the UK, however, scientists say the subvariant AY.4.2 has been spreading rapidly.

Last week the country had recorded 50,000 COVID-19 cases as reports claimed school children have been increasingly affected by the virus.

Also Read | Delta 'Plus' variant may be more easily transmissible: UK health experts

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UK health expertsBritain's health secretary Sajid Javid had warned that coronavirus cases could touch 100,000 a day. Britain is one of the worst-hit countries with the virus with over 8.6 million cases and over 163,515 fatalities. 

Also Read: Coronavirus cases surge in UK 

UK had earlier announced that it had cut  47 countries from its "red list" with just seven countries still on the list including Colombia, Ecuador, Haiti among others. The development means travellers would no longer need to enter hotel quarantine. 

(With inputs from Agencies)