SAGE experts tried to get No10 to close borders WEEKS ago over South African variant
Minutes from a SAGE meeting on January 21 revealed how it urged the government to close Britain s borders
They also warned geographical travel bans would not work in preventing the spread of South African variant
News comes as it was revealed that officials will go door to door to test people in eight areas in England
Officials will take swabs in Woking, Walsall, as well as parts of London, Kent, Hertfordshire and Lancashire
Public Health England has already spotted 105 cases of the B.1.351 variant, as it is known, across the country
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Residents in areas hit by the new South African strain of coronavirus have shared their fears it will mess everything up .
Door-to-door coronavirus testing is being launched across eight parts of England where it is feared the new variant is spreading in the community.
In a desperate attempt to keep track of the mutated virus that experts fear could hamper the current crop of vaccines, health officials will join forces with local police, councillors and firefighters to visit homes in several areas across England.
It is estimated as many as 350,000 people in the affected areas have been told to stay home.