@Mike, is the fear that this is a more dangerous or contagious strain, that it might be more apt to infect those who've already been sick or vaccinated, or all of the above?
Well Lancashire and generally many large cities in the North are not surprising, having a Huge population of Indian and Pakistanis'...as has parts of London in the South ....
Please watch this.. everyone.,from 2 specialist doctors .. the exact way to wear a mask... and why you don't need to wear an N95 Mask, but you must wear a 3 layer surgical mask which fits snugly across your nose.. and preferably wear a double mask.. but prferably leave your cotton masks at home...