FOUR new cases of the Manaus variant of coronavirus have been identified in England - including one in Bradford - Public Health England said this afternoon.

The case was found in the district after the person tested positive late last month having travelled back from Brazil via Paris on February 14.

A PHE statement said: “Contact tracing teams have followed up close contacts of the individual and advised them to isolate and get a test.”

The other three cases were found in South Gloucestershire and are said to be close or household contacts with the two cases previously discovered in the area.

The new cases bring the number of cases of the variant, named P1, detected in the UK to ten – seven in England and three in Scotland.

Yesterday, Bradford Council made four key asks of the Government in an effort to contain the spread of Covid-19.

Infection rates have been falling in the district, but not at the same pace as most other parts of England and Bradford is now back in the top 10 of local authority areas with the highest rates of infection.

Read more here.

Bradford Council has been contacted for a comment on the discovery of the Brazil variant.