Covid-19: Indian variant Covid cases found in Nuneaton

People living or working in Nuneaton and Bedworth borough are being offered PCR tests

Extra testing is being considered in Nuneaton after a "small number of cases" of the Indian Covid variant were found.

Warwickshire County Council said the cases of the strain known as VOC-21APR-02 were in the Abbey Ward area.

All close contacts are being traced and tested.

The authority said it is working with the borough council and Public Health England (PHE) to consider enhanced community testing.

While they assess the situation, people living or working in Nuneaton and Bedworth borough are being offered a PCR (polymerase chain reaction) test.

Dr Shade Agboola, the county's director of public health, said there "is not enough evidence" to tell if the variant causes more severe illness or makes vaccines less effective.

"However, the more cases of the variant we find, the better chance we have at suppressing the virus and keeping our communities safe," she added.

There have been 520 confirmed cases in total of this strain of Covid-19 in the UK, according to government figures.

On Tuesday, the World Health Organization classified the Indian variant as a "variant of global concern".

The prime minister has said the government is "anxious" about the variant and "ruling nothing out" when considering its response

Boris Johnson said: "There may be things we have to do locally and we will not hesitate to do them if that is the advice we get."

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Health Secretary Matt Hancock said on the variant the government is "watching it very, very carefully".

"At the moment our goal is to tackle this through making sure everybody who tests positive gets that enhanced contact tracing and of course the vaccine programme is giving a high level of protection right across the board," he added.

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