Matt Hancock will give a Downing Street coronavirus press conference at 5pm today.
It comes after officials have identified the first UK cases of the Manaus variant of coronavirus, a new strain that may spread more rapidly and respond less well to existing vaccines.
Public Health England (PHE) said on Sunday that six cases of the concerning P.1 variant first detected in the Brazilian city have been confirmed in Britain, three in England and three in Scotland.
Two were confirmed in South Gloucestershire but the third English case has not been located and could be anywhere in the nation, as PHE says the person did not complete their test registration card so their contact details are unavailable.
Anyone who took a test on February 12 or 13 and has not received a result, or has an uncompleted test registration card, is being asked to come forward immediately.
Critics said the development exposed the “weaknesses” in the border protections against new strains and condemned the Government for delaying toughening restrictions.
The Gloucestershire cluster was said to originate from one individual who travelled back from Brazil and arrived in London on February 10 – five days before the Government’s quarantine hotel policy came into force.
