Government ‘slow to act’ over South African variant
EALING councillors have hit out at the Government for being “slow to act” at informing the local authority of the presence of the South African variant of coronavirus in the community.
On Monday February 1, Ealing Council announced that mass testing was to take place in some areas of Hanwell and West Ealing after an individual in the W7 postcode was discovered to have tested positive with the strain, which is believed to spread more quickly.
It is understood the person tested positive for the virus at the end of December, but the council’s public health team were not informed until the last week of January.
Councillor Gareth Shaw, for Walpole ward, where the new mobile testing unit for affected residents is being hosted, said: “I understand there’s testing to be done, [but] a four week lag before these responses have been put on... They [the government] could have come down faster and harder.”
Testing capacity has also been a concern with Ealing’s Lib Dem group, reporting residents being told there are no testing slots available when trying to book tests online for the Dean Gardens car park test site.
As of Wednesday February 3, Ealing Council staff began delivering free home testing kits as part of the drive to test 10,000 people in the affected area.
According to Lib Dem group leader councillor Gary Malcolm, calls for more testing capacity have been answered.
He said: “It is a great shame that the Government kept councils in the dark and were slow to act in informing Ealing Council of the South African variant of coronavirus.
“Thank you to the Ealing Council workers for delivering test kits promptly. Liberal Democrats have pressed for a greater testing capacity and from today testing capacity has doubled which is a positive step.”
In London, surge testing for the South African strain is also taking place in Croydon and Camden.
On February 1, the government revealed that Public Health England has discovered 105 cases of the South African variant since December 22. They added that all their contacts have been contacted and told to self-isolate. It is understood the Ealing resident has made a full recovery and followed all coronavirus and self-isolation guidelines.
Health secretary Matt Hancock said: “The UK is a global leader in Covid-19 genomics, and because of this, we have been able to identify new strains of the virus and take decisive action.
“We continue to closely monitor new variants, here and around the world, and in addition to our already extensive testing service, we are making surge testing capacity available to affected areas.”
Hobbayne councillor Ray Wall said he has noticed less people out on the streets since the announcement and believes the testing exercise has not been put across “very well”, as it gives the impression it is a problem when potentially “it’s no worse than the UK variant”.
Cllr Paul Conlan also assured the testing isn’t anything to be “massively alarmed by”, and that people being vaccinated should be protected from the South African variant as they are from other variants.