Thousands of home tests rolled out in bid to stop South African variant spreading By PA News
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Targeted coronavirus testing has been rolled out across areas of England as authorities work to contain the spread of the South African variant.
Door-to-door deliveries began on Tuesday with extra testing in eight postcode areas of the country, as urgent efforts got under way to swab 80,000 people in a bid to stop transmission.
Some locals expressed concern about the variant â which is thought to be as transmissible as the Kent strain but not known to cause more severe disease â with one man saying more action should have been taken sooner.
Door-to-door deliveries of thousands of coronavirus tests aiming to catch cases of the South African variant are under way, with some residents feeling concerned about the presence of the strain in England.
The rollout of extra testing in eight postcode areas of the country is part of urgent efforts to swab 80,000 people and halt the spread of the strain.
Eleven cases of the variant have been identified over the last five or six days in people who have no links to travel – suggesting it may be spreading in communities.
In Woking, Surrey, on Tuesday, where two cases of the strain were discovered, volunteers began ringing and knocking on doors on streets within part of the GU21 postcode area to explain the reasoning for testing and leave kits for residents.
The mixed messages inside the Woking Covid testing zone after Matt Hancock went on TV and caused huge confusion
The Health Secretary appeared to contradict messages sent out locally in Woking
Updated
Police volunteer John Adams drops off test kits to Linda and Clive Dymond of Goldsworth Park (Image: Grahame Larter)
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| UPDATED: 11:07, Tue, Feb 2, 2021
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Urgent testing for the South African mutated variant of the virus has begun in parts of England after a number of cases were found with no known links to travel or previous cases. Two Covid variant cases were identified in Surrey, with some previous cases traced back to South Africa. Cases caused by the variant were identified as part of Public Health England’s random checks on testing.
Mass testing after two who haven t travelled catch South Africa Covid
Health workers will go door to door offering to test all residents in some areas
Updated
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