Surge tests to tackle an outbreak of the Indian variant of the coronavirus are underway in parts of England.
Additional resources to ensure widespread community testing in targeted locations in east London – including Shoreditch and Dalston – were put in place after the South African variant was also found.
The infections have occurred at three workplaces in the region, the Hackney Council said.
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Sky News watched in Shoreditch on Saturday morning as people started to flock to the center there.
Sky’s Jemima Walker said: “Most people say they’re not worried, they woke up this morning, saw the text message and came to the testing center.”
Surge tests to combat the Indian variant are also underway in several other parts of the country, including areas of Sefton, Merseyside, Bolton, Greater Manchester and Blackburn, Lancashire.
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Data from Public Health England shows an increase in cases of the worrying Indian variant from 520 to 1,313 in the UK, but those numbers are said to be at least a week behind.
It is believed that around 400 of them were in London.
A statement from the London Borough of Hackney said: “The council is now calling on all who work or live in these affected areas to take a test to help stop the spread of these variants in the community.
“These areas are around Old Street and Great Eastern Street, in Shoreditch; and parts of downtown Dalston, around Dalston Lane and Kingsland High Street.”
Boris Johnson warned on Friday that the variant could result in a “serious disruption” of plans to ease the lockdown and could delay the scheduled end of all legal restrictions on June 21.
The Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (SAGE) determined that there was a “realistic …
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Source: news.sky.com
This notice was published: 2021-05-15 09:43:00
