Covid testing push in Surrey after South African variant found with no travel links
Residents in Woking, Surrey will be offered coronavirus tests after two people in the community tested positive for the South African variant, with no travel links to South Africa.
Households in the Goldsworth Park and St Johns areas of Woking will be visited and requested to carry out a Covid-19 test – regardless of whether they have symptoms or not, Sky News reported.
The scheme is expected to be extended to Egham within the next few days.
Surrey’s Local Resilience Forum said the “surge testing” programme was to “closely monitor any community spread of the new variant, and restrict further transmission”.
Woking mass testing: Some elderly are worried the people knocking on their doors aren t safe
Elderly residents in Surrey, where door-to-door testing has been rolled out, are concerned about opening their doors to strangers
1 February 2021 • 8:42pm
A Covid-19 Home Testing kit waiting to be distributed at Woking Fire Station in Woking, Surrey
Credit: Steve Parsons /PA
When two positive cases of the South African coronavirus variant were detected in Woking, Surrey, health officials immediately got to work on rolling out a mass testing program to try and get a grip on how far the new strain has spread.
But local volunteers fear that the house-to-house testing drive could be curtailed by some elderly residents - who are worried about being targeted by Covid scammers - feeling unsafe answering their door to council workers giving out the swabs.
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Video report by ITV News Health Editor Emily Morgan
Quick Covid tests will be carried out door-to-door in parts of England after the South Africa variant of the virus was identified in positive tests.
Medics will reach out to 80,000 residents directly in parts of Surrey, London, Kent, Walsall, Southport and Hertfordshire in a bid to curb the variant’s spread.
Each resident visited will be requested to take a PCR Covid test – which can provide swift results on the same day – whether they have symptoms or not.
There have been 11 cases of the variant identified across England with no links to travel to South Africa.
Map shows where Woking coronavirus surge testing will take place after South African variant detected
Residents within the affected area will receive a testing kit through their letterbox
Updated
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