Matt Hancock has announced that the UK will run the world’s first study into the effectiveness of a third “booster” shot of a coronavirus vaccine and that further surge testing will be rolled out in India variant hotspots.
Mr Hancock hosted a Downing Street press conference after revealing that there had been nearly 3,000 cases of infection by the Indian-origin variant of coronavirus in the UK. It followed criticism by Labour that the government has allowed the border to operate “like a sieve” during the pandemic.
Covid-19 cases are rising in areas known to have cases of the Indian variant, according to new figures. There are 158 council areas where cases are increasing, including Bolton, Blackburn with Darwen and Bedford – up from only 96 local authority patches last week.
The health secretary told the Commons today that more surge testing will be deployed in areas of the country including Hounslow, Leicester and North Tyneside.
Meanwhile, Keir Starmer has urged Boris Johnson to ditch his “confused and contradictory” traffic light system for travel overseas. The government has been accused of putting out mixed messages on travel to “amber list” areas – which includes most countries in the world.
- Indian variant: What are the symptoms?
- Millions of holidaymakers will defy order not to travel to ‘amber list’ countries, Boris Johnson warned
- Mapped: Where is the Indian Covid variant in the UK?
- Nurse who cared for Boris Johnson in hospital resigns over ‘lack of respect’ for NHS
- Covid announcement: What time is Matt Hancock’s press briefing today?
