NEW Public Health England (PHE) figures reveal 37 cases of the Delta variant have been recorded in Basingstoke and Deane.

The latest figures from PHE, published on today (June 11), show that 42,323 cases of the Delta variant first identified in India have been confirmed in the UK, up by 29,892 from last week.

A total of 37 of these cases were recorded in the Basingstoke and Deane area. 

Up to 96 per cent of new cases recorded are estimated to be the Delta variant and ministers have warned this should be ringing “alarm bells” ahead of lockdown being lifted.

It estimates that the strain is 60 per cent more transmissible compared with the previously dominant Alpha, or Kent, variant, and that cases are doubling every four and a half days in some parts of England.

The All-Party Parliamentary Group (APPG) on Coronavirus chairwoman Layla Moran said the figures should “set alarm bells ringing in Government”.

The Lib Dem MP added: “These figures should set alarm bells ringing in Government as we approach June 21.

“The Government must immediately explain to the public whether this exponential growth suggests the country is in line for a severe third wave, and if so what it is doing to prevent this.”

Meanwhile, Labour warned that the pace of the variant’s spread put the potential lifting of lockdown restrictions at risk.

Shadow home secretary Nick Thomas-Symonds said: “The pace at which cases of the Delta variant continue to rise is deeply worrying and is putting the lifting of restrictions at risk.

“The blame for this lies with the Prime Minister and his reckless refusal to act on Labour’s repeated warnings to secure our borders against Covid and its variants.”

However, Downing Street has defended its borders policy in relation to the Delta variant.

Asked whether Boris Johnson regretted not putting India on the red list of travel restrictions sooner the Prime Minister’s spokesman said: “I would point to the tough border measures that we’ve had in place for a fair amount of time now, that we’ve ensured that anybody arriving from India needed to quarantine at home, and then later as you said they were put on the red list which means that people have to quarantine in a hotel if they arrive in the UK from India.”

Their comments come after The Times reported ministers are considering a four-week delay to what some are calling “freedom day”, in order to give businesses certainty and allow more time for people to receive both vaccine doses.

Boris Johnson is due to make a decision shortly on whether England can go ahead with full reopening, with an announcement expected on Monday.

The Prime Minister is being urged to err on the side of caution and delay the next stage of his road map as new figures show cases rising across England.

The latest Office for National Statistics (ONS) figures estimate that around one in 560 people in private households in England had Covid-19 in the week to June 5, up from one in 640 in the previous week and the highest level since April 10.