Financial Times: U.K. warns of threat from new Covid-19 variant
“A new variant of coronavirus has been identified in the U.K. that could be contributing to a rapid rise in infections in some parts of the country. Researchers were urgently investigating whether the new strain was more transmissible than previous coronavirus variants, U.K. health secretary Matt Hancock told the House of Commons on Monday, even as he sought to reassure members of parliament over the risks posed by the mutation…” (Cookson et al., 12/14).

Reuters: WHO says authorities investigating new COVID-19 variant in England
“The World Health Organization is aware of a new variant of COVID-19 that has emerged in Britain, but there is no evidence the strain behaves differently to existing types of the virus, it said on Monday…” (Nebehay/Revill, 12/14).