Experts in Scotland are assessing whether new Covid variants are having more impact on children after 10 youngsters aged nine and under were admitted to hospital last week.
Deputy first minister John Swinney said not many children had been admitted to hospital during the pandemic but the number currently in hospital is “on the high side”.
Health secretary Humza Yousaf on Wednesday revealed 10 children aged zero to nine were admitted to hospital last week “because of Covid”.
Mr Swinney, who is also Covid Recovery Secretary, said experts will be trying to determine whether there is something in the new variants that are emerging that is making it more acutely challenging for children with a greater impact on their health.
Meanwhile, it appears the Indian coronavirus variant is now dominant in a fifth (21 per cent) of areas in England.
The B.1.617.2 variant – now referred to as Delta – was dominant in 67 of 315 local authorities where at least five cases were found for the two weeks ending 22 May, according to Sky News analysis of the most recent data from the Wellcome Sanger Institute.
