当地时间1月22日，英国首相鲍里斯•约翰逊表示，有一些证据表明在英国发现的变异新冠病毒可能比旧病毒致死率更高。

“我们今天被告知，现在看来有一些证据表明，最初在伦敦和英格兰东南部发现的新变种病毒除了传播速度更快之外，可能与更高的死亡率有关。”约翰逊在当天的记者会上说道。

UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson on Friday revealed that there is some evidence that the UK COVID-19 variant is more deadly than others.

"We've been informed today that in addition to spreading more quickly, it also now appears that there is some evidence that the new variant, the variant that was first identified in London and the southeast, may be associated with a higher degree of mortality," Johnson said during a televised address from Downing Street.

变异新冠病毒使英国新增病例激增，约翰逊也表示，这使英国国家医疗服务体系承受了巨大的压力。

同时，他提醒大家必须保持警惕，遵守防疫规则，待在家里，保护国家医疗服务体系，从而挽救生命。

约翰逊还指出，英国目前使用的新冠疫苗对旧病毒和变异病毒都有效力，政府仍在按计划进行疫苗接种——预计在2月中旬前完成四类重点人群的首剂疫苗接种。

英国首席科学顾问帕特里克•瓦朗斯提到，虽然还没弄清原因，但是英国发现的变异新冠病毒的传染性升高了四成至七成。

瓦朗斯还补充说：“对于六十多岁的新冠患者而言，1000名感染者中平均会有10人不幸死亡。但如果感染的是变异新冠病毒，1000名感染者中大约会有13或14人死亡。”

The UK is experiencing a resurgence in infections driven by the new strain which is spreading quicker than others. Johnson acknowledged that the impact of the new variant was behind the immense pressure the National Health Service (NHS) was experiencing.

"It's more important than ever that we all remain vigilant in following the rules and that we stay at home, protect the NHS and, thereby, save lives," Johnson added.

Johnson also noted that the vaccines currently in use were effective against the old and new coronavirus variants. He said the UK remained on course to achieve its target of offering a first vaccine to everyone in the top four priority groups by mid-February.

Government Chief Scientific Adviser Patrick Vallance confirmed the new UK variant was transmitting more easily than the old variant.

Vallance said the death rate among COVID-19 sufferers aged in their 60s was 1.3 percent, compared with 1 percent for the first variant.

"Out of 1,000 people aged in their 60s you would expect 10 [patients with COVID-19] to die. With the new variant 13 or 14 would be expected to die," he explained.