Coronavirus: Surge testing rolled out to yet more areas as South Africa variant spreads
People in parts of Middlesbrough, Walsall and Hampshire urged to be screened even if showing no symptoms
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Your support makes all the difference.Surge coronavirus testing will be carried out in parts of Middlesbrough, Walsall and Hampshire after the feared South African variant was detected in all three areas.
The additional screening will be deployed to the TS7 postcode of Middlesbrough, across Walsall and in specific areas in the RG26 postcode of Hampshire.
The action is the latest in a series of major testing programmes set up in different parts of the country with the aim of effectively trying to stamp out the variant wherever it is found.
In a statement released on Saturday, the Department for Health and Social Care urged anyone over 16 living in the identified areas to take a Covid-19 test during the next week even if they are not showing symptoms.
Esther Mireku, consultant in public health in Middlesbrough, said: "This will help us understand more about the potential spread of this new variant.
"While the overall Covid infection rate in Middlesbrough has now halved from its peak in early January, it has still not decreased as much as we would have liked.”
Scientists and officials fear the South African variant could be especially problematic because it has a so-called ‘escape mutation’ – a change that helps it slip past the body’s defence systems.
The effectiveness of vaccines against it remains unclear. In a small-scale study, the Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine has been shown to be less effective against mild to moderate forms of the disease.
Andy Preston, the directly elected mayor of Middlesbrough, said: "New variants are popping up in different towns and cities around the country.
"What’s really important now is that we establish whether the variant has spread further around Middlesbrough."
Tees Valley’s elected mayor Ben Houchen said people in the area should not be "overly alarmed".
He said: "Our region has made phenomenal progress in vaccinating the majority of our most vulnerable residents thanks to the hard work and dedication of our NHS heroes."
Surge testing has been used in a number of areas across the country in attempts to get on top of new variants of the disease.
People in areas of Lambeth in south London as well as parts of Worcestershire, Manchester, Kent and Surrey have all been offered surge testing this month after new variants have been detected there.
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