DOOR-TO-DOOR Covid testing will be extended to Bristol and Liverpool after more virus mutations were detected, the Health Secretary said.
Health officials were sent to eight postcodes in England today after 11 cases of the South African variant with no travel links were identified on Monday.
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But the testing drive will now be rolled out to Bristol and Liverpool after 43 other “mutations of concern” were found, Matt Hancock told MPs.
It comes after an official report revealed the UK Covid strain which first emerged in Kent has acquired a “worrying” mutation, known as E484K.
The South African and Brazilian variants also contain the mutation, which has been shown to reduce the effectiveness of vaccines.
However, public health experts believe current vaccines will still be effective against these strains and are good at preventing severe disease.
A report from Public Health England (PHE) shows that sequencing has uncovered 11 Kent cases with the spontaneous E484K mutation.
These are understood to be the cases in Bristol.
While 32 cases identified in Liverpool are another E484K mutation involving the original virus, which first emerged a year ago.
It comes after:
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A PHE spokesperson said: “Public Health England has identified 11 cases of the Variant of Concern VOC202012/01, which genomic sequencing has shown to feature the spike protein mutation E484K, predominantly situated within the South West.
“PHE is monitoring the situation closely and all necessary public health interventions are being undertaken, including enhanced contact tracing and control measures.”
In total, 105 cases of the South African strain have been found in Britain since late December.
Most have links abroad, but 11 do not.
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Scientists warn these could be the tip of the iceberg, with the real total up to 20 times higher.
Only up to ten per cent of positive tests are “gene- sequenced” to look for variants.
Paul Hunter, the University of East Anglia’s professor of medicine, said: “The fact we are only doing surveillance on a minority of infections almost certainly means we have more cases in the UK.
“The concern is it is more contagious and also more resistant to vaccine.”
JAB FEARS
The Government said it is working with vaccine firms on tackling variants in case they need to be tweaked to accommodate them.
Mr Hancock said: “We’re working with pharmaceutical companies and with the scientists to understand both whether the such modifications are needed, where they are needed, and how they can be brought to use on the frontline as quickly and safely as possible.
“This is obviously a very important consideration given the new variants that we’ve seen.
“And we have confidence that modifications to vaccines, should they be necessary in large scale, will be available more quickly than the original vaccines.
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“And just as we did first time round, when we got in there early and we bought at risk, so we are having exactly the same conversations right now with the pharmaceutical companies to make sure that we are right at the front of this one.”
Mr Hancock told MPs that the aim of community testing for the South African variant – currently targeting around 80,000 people in eight postcode areas – is to “stop its spread altogether”.
He said: “As with the variant first identified here in the UK, there is currently no evidence to suggest it is any more severe but we have to come down on it hard.
“Our mission must be to stop its spread altogether and break those chains of transmission.”
‘STAY AT HOME’
Ministers have warned residents living in the testing areas they should ‘think again’ before leaving their homes to buy food.
Universities Minister Michelle Donelan urged people to eat up tins and leftovers rather than go out food shopping to stop the spread.
Earlier today, volunteers were seen gathering at Woking fire station in Surrey as they were briefed on the plan of action for the day ahead.
Public health England (PHE) are carrying out surge testing for selected parts of the Goldsworth Park, St Johns and Knaphill areas of Woking as well as seven other parts of the UK.
Residents in the affected postcode areas are being urged to get swabbed over the next fortnight.
Mobile units have been scrambled, while council officials will knock on doors offering kits to 80,000 locals.
Authorities are anxious to suppress any spread amid fears vaccination will prove less effective against the variant.
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It is more contagious than the original, but there is no evidence it is deadlier.
Donelan said the development was “deeply concerning” and urged people to stay at home.
She said there are no extra restrictions in those neighbourhoods because the whole country is already in lockdown, but that residents there should interpret the rules even more strictly.
She told them: “Think again before you go about activities, even those within the rules such as essential shopping.
“Do you really need to go for that shopping or have you got enough in? Could you work from home, have that extra conversation with your employer?
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Speaking last night, Mr Hancock insisted the UK was working hard to stop the spread of variants.
He said: “I strongly urge everyone in these areas to get tested, whether you have symptoms or not.
“A mutation in one part of the world is a threat to people everywhere. We need to come down on it hard, and we will.
“We’ve already made sure that all these cases are isolating, and that we’ve done enhanced contact tracing.
“We’re surging extra testing into the areas where this variant has been found and sequencing every single positive case. Working with local authorities, we’re going door to door to test people.”
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Transmission has been found at eight postcodes — in London, Surrey, Kent, Hertfordshire, the West Midlands and Merseyside.
All 350,000 locals will be offered a test over the next fortnight.
Travellers from South Africa have already been barred from entering England since December 23.
KENT MUTATION
Regarding the E484K mutation seen in the Kent variant, Dr Jonathan Stoye, from the Francis Crick Institute, said the PHE report suggests the UK variant is now independently acquiring the E484K change.
“From a virological standpoint, appearance of new variants by mutation during replication cannot be considered surprising,” he added.
“Whether this change will provide significant growth advantages for the novel virus causing it to predominate remains to be seen.”
Dr Julian Tang, honorary associate professor at the University of Leicester, described the finding as “a worrying development, though not entirely unexpected”.
He said it is important that people follow lockdown rules to prevent opportunities for the virus to mutate further, suggesting that allowing spread could provide a “melting pot” for different emerging variants.
“We really need to reduce our contact rates to reduce the opportunities for viral spread (and) replication to reduce the speed with which these different virus variants can evolve,” he added.
Clinical trials for two coronavirus vaccines – Novavax and Johnson & Johnson – have shown the jabs offer some protection against variants with the E484K mutation.
Q&A on the South African variant
Q: WHAT IS THE NEW VARIANT?
A: The B.1.351 South African variant is a new strain of the coronavirus with eight mutations. It was first detected in Nelson Mandela Bay, South Africa, in October 2020. It now makes up more than 90 per cent of Covid cases in South Africa and has spread to 20 more countries, including the UK.
Q: WHY IS IT SO CONTAGIOUS?
A: It spreads about 60-70 per cent faster than the original strain. This is because it can bind to human cells quickly and infect them more easily due to its mutations.
Q: WHY ARE WE MORE WORRIED ABOUT IT?
A: The speed of its spread means that if we don’t contain an outbreak quickly there would likely be a spike in cases and the NHS might become overwhelmed again. It is also thought that Covid-19 vaccines may be less effective against it.
Q: IS IT MORE DEADLY THAN THE ORIGINAL STRAIN?
A: It is not currently thought to be more deadly. Although it spreads faster, there is not enough data to suggest it causes more deaths or hospitalisations.
Q: HOW CAN WE STOP IT?
A: We have banned travellers from coming into England from South Africa. If they are still able to enter the country, as British and Irish nationals are, they must self-isolate for ten days. The vaccine roll-out will also provide immunity against the strain, although potentially at a lower level.
Q: WHAT DO I DO IF I LIVE IN A POSTCODE AREA WHERE THERE ARE CASES OF THIS VARIANT FOUND?
A: You must take up any offer of tests given to you — either from a door knock or a mobile test centre. If you have any symptoms or test positive you must isolate. Otherwise, continue washing hands, covering your face and giving space.
However, they are less effective than against the variant that has been around since the start of the pandemic.
Laboratory studies also suggest vaccines developed by Moderna and Pfizer/BioNtech could work against variants, while variant checks against the Oxford University/AstraZeneca vaccine are ongoing.
Earlier, Andrew Hayward, professor of infectious disease epidemiology at University College London (UCL) and a member of the Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (Sage), said a “sustainable strategy” will be needed in the future to tackle coronavirus mutations.
He said that, while it is sensible to try to stamp out chains of transmission of variants, new strains will continue to be a risk and suggested borders cannot stay shut forever.
Asked on Sky News about the probability of more strains entering the UK unless borders are closed completely, or unless all people entering the country are forced into hotel quarantine for 14 days, Prof Hayward said: “Well, probably in the long term, 100%.
“The nature of this virus is that it will continue to mutate, as do all viruses, and new strains will emerge and they’ll emerge in many different countries in the world at different times, and you won’t notice that they are spreading until such time as they are quite widespread.
“The real challenge here is that, well, yes, you can think about completely shutting the borders or having quarantine, (but) what’s the endgame in that?
“Is that something that you’re going to do forever, because it looks like these strains may continue to arise in the long term?
“So we need some sort of sustainable strategy, and I think that’s very difficult for politicians to think about that.”
The Sun says
NOTHING must undermine the extraordinary success of our vaccine rollout.
That means combating anti-vax idiots, among them the President of France, spreading lies about AstraZeneca’s jab.
It means encouraging the ethnic minority community leaders already doing admirable work to convince those who still doubt the vaccines’ safety.
But it must surely mean closing our borders, temporarily but immediately, not just to countries deemed higher risk but to all (with a small number of exemptions for certain jobs).
We are told our jabs should work against the worrying South African Covid variant. But Health Secretary Matt Hancock’s insistence that those in certain postcodes get tested, even without symptoms, betrays his nervousness.
Other new strains must be kept out, especially with so many still unjabbed.
Every day, that number falls at a fantastic rate. Almost a million people were inoculated at the weekend alone.
That, like Britain’s commitment to donate excess vaccines to nations in need, is a cause for huge pride.
We must do nothing to set it back.
