No evidence of South Africa Covid variant found in city
Sunderland’s public health chief has said there is ‘no evidence’ of the South African Covid variant in the city after it was claimed a case had been detected in Wearside.
There have been a small number of cases of the South African mutation found in the North East in recent weeks, including in Hartlepool and Middlesbrough, and a panel in Teesside heard another travel-related case of the strain had been found in Sunderland.
But Gerry Taylor, executive director of Public Health and Integrated Commissioning at Sunderland City Council, dismissed the claim.
She said: “There is no current evidence of the South Africa variant in Sunderland and no wider actions are needed at present.
“However, we remain vigilant and follow up any cases of concern to ensure that all necessary public health measures continue to be kept in place.
“The most important thing is that people continue to follow the national guidance – limit the number of people you come into contact with, wash your hands regularly and thoroughly, keep your distance and cover your face.
“If you test positive, you must isolate to stop the spread of the virus.”
There is no evidence the South Africa variant causes more serious symptoms for the vast majority of people who become infected.
However, there are concerns
if can spread more easily, and that current Covid vaccines may be less effective at offering protection from the mutation.
Some areas around the country have seen “surge testing” – with door knocking by health teams tracking variant cases in certain postcode areas.
The claim there had been a case in Sunderland came as South Tees Public Health chief Mark Adams gave an update to a health scrutiny panel in Teesside.
Mr Adams was updating councillors on efforts to track one case of the mutation in Middlesbrough, which hadn’t involved in foreign travel. He said they had visited James Cook University Hospital at some point in the past couple of weeks.
The panel heard cases had also been found in Sunderland (now dismissed by Gerry Taylor), Hartlepool and Scarborough – and that all had been “involved in foreign travel in one form or another”.
A 34-year-old man tragically died in Sunderland after lighting a cigarette causing a can of petrol to explode inside his car, an inquest has heard.
Shakeel Munir Mohammed died after his car set alight in Chatsworth Street, Sunderland, in the early hours of April 29, 2020.
An inquest heard that the 34-year-old, who lived in Ingleby Barwick, Stockton, died as a result of smoke inhalation and burns.
Emergency services received a call at about 3.50am to report a car had exploded in the street. When the fire had been extinguished it was confirmed a person was in the driver’s seat.
The inquest, which was held at Sunderland Coroner’s Court, heard the police investigation found that the carer had travelled from Teesside to Sunderland to meet an acquaintance.
During his journey, Mr Mohammed had ran out of petrol and ordered a taxi to a petrol station where he filled a jerry can and returned to his vehicle. The inquest heard Mr Mohammed had ‘lit a cigarette in his vehicle and that had ignited a canister of petrol he had bought earlier in the day’.
Senior Coroner Derek Winter said: “CCTV footage was able to confirm that, in their view, there was no suspicious circumstances or third party involvement.
“The police have been able to rule out there was no evidence of suicidal intent on his part. It was very difficult to say if this was an accident or otherwise.”