Surge testing is be deployed in areas around Lambeth in connection to the South African new variant, the Government announced today.
The postcodes where the additional testing will take place are SE27 0, SE27 9 and SW16 2, where the Covid-19 variant first identified in South Africa has been found.
The Health Department is working in conjunction with Lambeth council on the operation. It comes after surge testing was rolled out last week in the CR4 postcode around Pollards Hill in south London, as well as the W7 and W3 areas in west London.
People living within these targeted areas are “strongly encouraged” to take a coronavirus test this week, whether they are showing symptoms or not.
Positive cases will be sequenced for genomic details to identify any more cases of the South African variant which a study has shown is more resistant to the Oxford/Astrazeneca vaccine in cases of mild and moderate disease.
Experts still expect it to stop hospitalisations and deaths in cases of the South African variant, as well as the Kent mutant strain and original Wuhan virus to arrive in Britain.
Dr Susan Hopkins, from Public Health England, told a briefing for journalists that 170 cases of the South African variant had been identified across the country so far, including 18 that are not linked to travel.
“To date we have identified 170 cases and 18 of these are unlinked to travel, and that means that they neither travelled abroad themselves or a direct contact with an individual that has travelled,” she said.
The New and Emerging Respiratory Virus Threats Advisory Group (NERVTAG) has also classed a variant first identified in Bristol – the Kent variant with the E484K mutation – as a “variant of concern”.
Meanwhile a variant identified in Liverpool has been classed as a “variant under investigation”.
So far Public Health England has identified 76 cases of these two new variants.
Health officials said they have “a high degree of confidence that the vaccines will work against variants”.
There are now four “variants of concern” of the virus that causes Covid-19 identified by government advisors.
Officials are also tracking two “variants under investigation”.
