[ad_1]
Residents in parts of Surrey will be offered coronavirus testing after two people without travel links were found to have contracted the variant discovered in South Africa.
Homes in the Goldsworth Park and St Johns areas of Woking will be visited and asked to take a COVID-19 test, regardless of whether they have symptoms or not.
The plan is expected to roll out to Egham in the coming days.
The Surrey Local Resilience Forum said the “surge testing” program was aimed at “closely monitoring any community spread of the new variant and restricting further transmission.”
In an attempt to reassure the public, he said there is “currently no evidence” that the variant known as VOC-202012/02 causes more severe disease or is more resistant to the coronavirus vaccines that are currently being rolled out.
Surrey Public Health Director Ruth Hutchinson said: “This is a precautionary measure: the more cases we find of the variant, the better chance we have of preventing it from spreading further.”
“By playing your role and taking the test, you will help keep your community and your loved ones safe.
The Surrey Local Resilience Forum said there is ‘no evidence’ that a vaccine is less effective against the variant
“It’s really important to say that there is currently no evidence that this variant causes more serious disease, so you don’t need to worry.”
Dr Alison Barnett, Regional Director of Public Health England South East, added: “I urge all who offered a test to take it to help us monitor the virus in our communities and to help suppress and control the spread of it. variant.
“The most important thing is that people continue to follow the established instructions: limit the number of contacts, wash your hands regularly and thoroughly, keep your distance and cover your face. If you get a positive result by any method, you must isolate to stop the spread of the virus “.
To date, 105 cases of the South African variant have been found in the UK.
Just over a week ago, Health Secretary Matt Hancock said all the cases identified so far were related to travel from South Africa.
But the two people found to have contracted it in Surrey had no links to previous travel or variant cases.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson said: “We are confident that all the vaccines we are using provide a high degree of immunity and protection against all variants.”
Professor Anthony Harnden, chairman of the Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunization, told Sky News in late January: “New variants abroad are a real concern: South African and Brazilian.
“And there are indications that there will be a vaccine leak, but I think we will have to get used to this.
“We live in a world where the coronavirus is so prevalent and naturally mutant that new variants are going to appear in all kinds of different countries.
“We may be in a situation where we have to have an annual coronavirus vaccine, just like we do with the flu vaccine.
“But the public wants to be sure that these technologies are actually relatively easy to edit and modify, and once we find predominant strains, the vaccines can be modified.”
