Alert for new variants of covid-19 0:47
(CNN) -
The World Health Organization (WHO) has called on European countries to step up coronavirus measures as the region grapples with a new variant that was first detected in the UK.
WHO Director for Europe Hans Kluge said Thursday that more measures are needed to "flatten the steep vertical line" of increasing cases in some countries.
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While the variant appears to spread more easily than others, there is no evidence that it is more deadly or causes more serious disease.
Health officials have also downplayed the possibility that coronavirus vaccines will not work against the variant.
But in the UK, healthcare workers are struggling with a sharp increase in cases and deaths.
The country recorded a total of 1,041 more deaths on Wednesday, as well as 62,322 new cases.
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The crisis is particularly acute in London.
On Thursday, Mayor Sadiq Khan said the capital was at risk of running out of hospital beds in the coming days.
"This virus is out of control," Khan told LBC radio.
“The [National Health Service] is about to be overwhelmed.
There has been no time during this pandemic that I have been more concerned than I am today.
coronavirus variant