Twickenham rugby fans told to get tested for Covid
Crowds at England match against South Africa last weekend alerted in bid to suppress omicron variant
RUGBY fans who attended the England v South Africa game at Twickenham last weekend are being urged to come forward for testing if they have Covid symptoms in an attempt to stamp out the new omicron variant.
A strict Covid pass system was in operation, meaning that the 80,000 spectators had to show evidence of double vaccination and a negative lateral flow test, but the variant is highly contagious and may evade vaccines. Munira Wilson, the local MP and the Liberal Democrats’ health spokesman, said: “While I’m confident the RFU will have had the necessary protocols in place, this serves as a reminder that we all must remain vigilant.
“Those who had flown in for the match and anyone who was in and around the stadium that day who has concerns should follow UKHSA advice in coming forward and getting tested.
“More broadly, the emergence of this new variant stresses the need to donate vaccines through the Covax programme. Ministers must spring into action and recognise no one is safe from Covid until we all are safe.”
Yesterday Sajid Javid, the Health Secretary, announced that two people carrying the variant had been identified in the UK – one in Chelmsford, Essex, and the other in Nottingham. There have not been any confirmed around Twickenham but Covid cases have climbed sharply in the area over the past week.
Cases for London as a whole are rising and being driven by a recent surge in cases in Richmond, which neighbours Twickenham. The number of cases noticeably increeased after last week’s match.
In nearby Wandsworth, which had the highest rate in the capital at time of the Euros finals in the summer, cases have also surged.
The UK Health Security Agency is seeking to track an estimated 9,000 people who have arrived from South Africa in the past 14 days. Officials are using passenger locator forms and trawling through databases of recent PCR tests to see if any show “S gene dropouts”, a sign of the new variant.
Surge testing of neighbourhoods is likely to be used as and when new cases of the variant are detected. The programme was successfully deployed this year when small clusters of earlier variants emerged.
Mass testing is under way in Essex and Nottinghamshire to identify and isolate possible further omicron cases.
“We have moved rapidly and the individuals are self-isolating while contact tracing is ongoing,” Mr Javid said.
“We will do all we can to protect the UK public against this emerging threat and that is why we are surging testing capacity to the impacted communities.”
The Government has reacted quickly to the new variant, placing much of southern Africa on the travel red list, but there was criticism yesterday of its border controls. Passengers arriving on a flight from Gauteng, the South African province where the variant is rampant, were reportedly allowed to leave the airport without testing.
“The captain read out a statement ‘advising’ self-isolation and further tests. But it’s at the discretion of passengers and it’s not legally enforceable,” noted a social media commentator with an acquaintance on the flight.
“Passengers then got on the airport shuttle to baggage reclaim, mixing with dozens of other flights.”
Separately, the Cabinet Office has reportedly blocked the word “Christmas” from being used in an advertising campaign targeting students, claiming it is not “inclusive” enough.
Ministers drew up the advert, which includes the slogan “Don’t take Covid home for Christmas”, encouraging students to take a Covid test before leaving university, but civil servants claim it might offend minority religions, according to