It is imperative that Britain stamps out any mutations of the novel coronavirus that have been detected in recent days and actions already taken to step up testing and contract tracing will help, Health Secretary Matt Hancock said on Wednesday.
"It is absolutely critical that where we find them, we absolutely stamp on it," he told Sky News, after Britain detected cases of the South African variant that were not linked to international travel.
He added that actions already taken would help to contain any outbreak, such as the introduction of enhanced contact tracing, mass community testing and clear instructions for people in those areas where cases are detected to stay at home.
(Reporting by Sarah Young and Alistair Smout; writing by Kate Holton; editing by James Davey)
