UK variant of Covid-19 accounts for 18% of infections in Italy

The estimated Covid-19 reproduction "R" number has risen to 0.95 from 0.84 a week ago, the health ministry said, as officials warned that new restrictions are likely to be announced later in the day for a number of regions.

The highly contagious variant of the Covid-19 virus first found in Britain accounts for some 17.8% of all new infections in Italy, with the infection rate ticking up in many parts of the country, the health ministry said on Friday.

British scientists have said the variant, first identified in southeast England at the end of last year, is up to 70% more contagious than other variants, with a mortality risk around 30% higher. (Representative Image) (Bloomberg)

The estimated Covid-19 reproduction "R" number has risen to 0.95 from 0.84 a week ago, the health ministry said, as officials warned that new restrictions are likely to be announced later in the day for a number of regions.

British scientists have said the variant, first identified in southeast England at the end of last year, is up to 70% more contagious than other variants, with a mortality risk around 30% higher.

"It is probably destined to become the prevalent one (in Italy) in the coming months," Italy's National Institute of Health said in a statement on Friday.

Italy has registered 92,729 deaths linked to Covid-19 since its outbreak emerged in February last year, the second-highest toll in Europe after Britain and the seventh-highest in the world. The country has reported 2.68 million cases to date.