Cases of South Africa variant found in Birmingham

Birmingham City Council said it was working closely with NHS Test and Trace and Public Health England

A "small number of cases" of the South Africa Covid-19 variant have been found, Birmingham City Council says.

One case was within the Ladywood and Soho & Jewellery Quarter wards and surge testing will be carried out.

Residents over 16 living or working there were strongly encouraged to take part in door-to-door testing when offered, even if they were not showing symptoms, the authority said.

Hundreds of cases of the South African variant have been detected in the UK.

People in the areas should continue using twice-weekly rapid testing alongside the PCR (polymerase chain reaction) test as part of the surge testing, the council said.

Director of public health for the authority Dr Justin Varney said it was "essential" all adults in the affected areas take up the offer of PCR testing "to help us contain the spread quickly and identify any further local cases".

There was financial and practical support available "for those who test positive and have to isolate and their contacts", he added.

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The council said it was working closely with Public Health England and NHS Test and Trace to support measures to curb any potential spread of the variant.

This would include "significantly increasing the testing offer in a targeted and intelligence-led way".

This week people in parts of Smethwick were being urged to get tested for coronavirus, after a case of the South Africa variant was detected.

Covid-19 infections across all parts of the UK have fallen to the lowest level since the autumn, new figures suggest.

According to the latest estimates from the Office for National Statistics, about one in 480 people in private households in England had Covid-19 in the week to 10 April - down from one in 340 the previous week.

This is the lowest figure since the week to 19 September last year, when the estimate stood at one in 500.