Amidst a rising surge, a mass testing was announced in Liverpool and Bristol where the cases of South African variant have risen.
The discovery of two new coronavirus variants in the United Kingdom (UK) has led to authorities reclassifying the strains as concerns across the country.
The two new mutations of coronavirus found in Bristol and Liverpool have been reclassified as “variant of concern” and “variant under investigation” respectively by the British government’s New and Emerging Respiratory Virus Threats Advisory Group (NERVTAG) on Tuesday, February 10.
Public Health England has reported at least 55 cases of the Liverpool mutation and 14 cases of the Bristol variant, reports The Sun.
Both the variants contain E484K mutation that has been located in the South African and Brazilian variants and can make the Covid-19 vaccine ineffective.
Last week, mass testing was announced in Liverpool and Bristol where the cases of South African variant have risen.
The British government is expected to confirm that travellers arriving in the UK from abroad will have to undergo two coronavirus tests while in quarantine.
“Enhancing our testing regime to cover all arrivals while they isolate will provide a further level of protection and enable us to better track any new cases which might be brought into the country, and give us even more opportunities to detect new variants,” a spokesman was quoted as saying by news agency, AFP.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson is facing severe criticism over laxity to test international flyers that have led to a rise in cases of various variants identified abroad.
Under new lockdown rules, travellers coming from 33 countries, including South Africa and all South American nations are banned from entering the UK.