UK Begins Door-To-Door Testing Of 80,000 People To Halt Mutant Strains

While UK has been attempting to deal with one mutant strain of coronavirus, the government is now implementing a door-to-door testing programme for another new strain from South Africa. 

There have been 3.84 million cases of COVID-19 in the UK and 107,000 deaths. During this time, there have been a series of measures aimed at reducing transmission rates.

After a sharp rise over the Christmas period and a recognised, more transmissible strain, the government is now trying to keep transmission numbers stable by door-to-door testing for mutant strains.

To combat the new strain from South Africa, there will be 80,000 door-to-door tests conducted from today, February 2, as part of a ‘surge testing’ process that aims to find the risk of transmission more quickly. 80,000 people will be tested regardless of whether they are showing symptoms or not.

Parts of the W7 and W13 postcode areas in Hanwell and West Ealing in west London
Parts of the ME15 postcode area in Kent
Parts of the WS2 postcode area in Walsall in the West Midlands
Parts of the GU21 postcode area in Woking, Surrey
Parts of the PR9 postcode area in Southport
The CR4 postcode area around Pollards Hill in south London
Tottenham Hale in the N17 postcode area of north London
The EN10 postcode area in Broxbourne

It is hoped these tests will be able to break patterns of transmission by spotting asymptomatic people. This move comes as concerns about variants and the impact it has on British health increases.

Alongside this testing programme, the government intends to continue rapidly rolling out vaccinations for the virus. So far, 9.3 million people have received the first shot of the two-pronged immunisation. It is hoped that a lockdown, alongside frequent testing and a vaccine rollout will enable the government to handle the virus and ease the strain on health services.