Scientists are concerned about a new highly contagious Covid variant could trigger a wave of infections this summer. Loading audio...

The strain, dubbed Nimbus, descends from the already destructive Omicron variant and has made its way to Britain after sparking a rise in cases in China, Singapore and Hong Kong.

At least 13 cases of Nimbus, known scientifically as N.B.1.8.1, have already been detected in England, the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) says.

A further 25 British samples of the strain were submitted to an international Covid database since the end of March.

But because testing has been massively reduced from the height of the pandemic, these figures are likely to be a massive underestimation of the variant's spread.

The percentage of people testing positive for Covid has

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