Patient X with Brazilian variant found after search
THE mystery person who tested positive for the Brazilian variant but could not be traced has been identified, the Health Secretary has said.
Matt Hancock said: “Using the latest technology and with the dogged determination of our Testing and Tracing scheme, we have successfully identified the person in question.”
The so-called Patient X was tracked to a residence in Croydon on Wednesday, after a team of 40 public health officials combed the records of thousands of home test kits.
The individual is believed to have completed the mandatory quarantine after arriving in the UK, and is not thought to have passed on the virus. Testing and genetic sequencing is being increased in the area out of caution.
Mayor of London Sadiq Khan urged residents in Croydon to “come forward” for a test. In a statement, Mr Khan said the Government’s delay in implementing a hotel quarantine system for international arrivals had been to blame for allowing the P1 variant into the country.
He said: “It is good news that this person is now in touch with the authorities. To ensure we minimise the risk that this strain of the virus spreads further, public health officials in Croydon are now encouraging people to come forward for a test – and I urge residents to take one when offered, regardless of having symptoms or not.”
Six cases have been found in the UK – three in Scotland and three in England. An appeal was made for one of those people in England to come forward after they took a test in February but left no contact details. Mr Hancock told a Downing Street news briefing: “The best evidence is that this person stayed at home and there is no evidence of onward transmission.”
Earlier this week, Mr Hancock said the hunt for Patient X had narrowed to 379 households in south-east England.
The three cases in Scotland are oil workers who were returning to their families from Brazil, via Paris and London. Officials have been trying to trace all passengers on their flight from Heathrow to Aberdeen. In England, two of the cases are from the same household in south Gloucestershire who tested positive after someone returned from Brazil on Feb 10.
Public Health England has revealed it is monitoring a new “variant under investigation”, known as VUI202102/04, 16 cases of which have been found through genetic sequencing.