LONDON (AP) — There is some evidence that a new coronavirus variant first identified in southeast England carries a higher risk of death than the original strain, the British government’s chief scientific adviser said Friday -- though he stressed that the data is uncertain.

Patrick Vallance told a news conference that "there is evidence that there is an increased risk for those who have the new variant.".

He said that for a man in his 60s with the original version of the virus, "the average risk is that for 1,000 people who got infected, roughly 10 would be expected to unfortunately die.".

"With the new variant, for 1,000 people infected, roughly 13 or 14 people might be expected to die," he said.

In contrast to that uncertainty, he said, there is growing confidence that the variant is more easily passed on than the original coronavirus strain.

The British scientists said that although initial analyses suggested that the strain, first identified in September, did not cause more severe disease, several more recent ones suggest it might.

One analysis did not find an increased risk of death among people admitted to a hospital with the new strain.

Paul Hunter, Professor in Medicine at the University of East Anglia, said "there is quite a bit of difference in the estimated increased risk of death between the different analyses, though most, but not all, show increased risk of death," he said.

But Vallance said scientists are concerned that variants identified in Brazil and South Africa could be more resistant to vaccines, adding that more research needs to be done.

Britain has recorded 95,981 deaths among people who tested positive for the coronavirus, the highest confirmed total in Europe