On Monday, the UK's Secretary of State for Health Matt Hancock revealed that a new coronavirus strain has been identified in the UK which might be linked with soaring cases especially in the south-east region of England.

Addressing the House of Commons today, Hancock told MPs:

Over the last few days, thanks to our world-class genomic capability in the UK, we've identified a new variant of coronavirus which may be associated with the fastest spread of the virus in the south-east of England. Initial analysis suggests that this variant is growing faster than the existing variance. We’ve currently identified over 1,000 cases with this variant, predominantly in the south of England, although cases have been identified in nearly 60 different local authority areas and numbers are increasing rapidly.

He further added:

Similar variants have been identified in other countries over the last few months. We’ve notified the World Health Organization about this new variant and Public Health England is working hard to continue its expert analysis at Porton Down.

Secretary emphasized the point that further research is to be done regarding this new strain and currently we can not say that this variant is more lethal than the old one or not. He also said that health officials believe that it is "highly unlikely" that the new mutation would fail to respond to a vaccine. So there is hope, we should not hit the panic button just yet.

The "exponential" rise in new cases has resulted in the implementation of strict lockdown regulations in several parts of England including London, Essex and Hertfordshire. This new development about the new strain of virus comes as a blow to the hopes of people who are desperately wanting to come out of these restrictions.