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THE government has been urged to be vigilant and ensure that alternative plans are in place this winter as a worrying new variant of coronavirus continues to spread across the globe.
The first European case of the new variant was identified in Belgium today, but the government said no cases have been found in Britain so far.
The new strain of the virus has turned up in Israel, Hong Kong South Africa and Botswana.
On Thursday, the government added the latter two countries to its travel red list, along with neighbouring Lesotho, Swaziland, Zimbabwe and Namibia as a precaution.
Despite admitting the the new variant is of “huge international concern,” Health Secretary Sajid Javid confirmed that ministers were still following Plan A for managing Covid-19 this autumn and winter but warned: “If we need to go further, we will.”
Labour MP Rachael Maskell urged Mr Javid to give “clear leadership around ensuring face coverings, social distancing and high hygiene are instituted, as well as better ventilation.”
She said: “These measures do make a difference, as we have seen throughout the last two years.”
The Health Secretary replied that Ms Maskell had made a good point about the need to follow guidance and the rules that are currently in place, but he added: “The Plan A, the policies that we put in place, they remain the policies that I think we need at this time.”
World Health Organisation special envoy Dr David Nabarro warned that it could take weeks to determine whether the B.1.1.529 variant could evade the current vaccines available, adding this was a reasonable concern.
UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) chief medical adviser Dr Susan Hopkins said that scientists were very concerned about the new variant.
She told the Today programme on BBC Radio 4 that the new variant had abut “30 different mutations that seem relevant — that’s double what we had in [the] Delta [variant].”
Unison general secretary Christina McAnea said: “The government must put the brakes on now. A return to mandatory mask-wearing and social distancing is long overdue and must be brought back immediately.
“Otherwise, there could be a rapid deterioration in the Covid situation. The consequence is that NHS and social care staff will be placed under even greater pressure. This cannot be allowed to happen again.”
