- Thursday, April 25, 2024
By: Sattwik Biswal
UK government is keen to control the spread of the Indian variant and prime minister Boris Johnson hinted at local lockdowns if there is a need.
“It is a variant of concern, we are anxious about it,” Johnson said at a primary school in Ferryhill, County Durham during a visit on Thursday (13).
The government’s scientific advisers, known as the Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (Sage), are meeting later today (13) to discuss the spread of the Indian variant.
On the possibility of lockdowns, Johnson said the government will take decisions led by data.
“There are a range of things we could do, we want to make sure we grip it. Obviously there’s surge testing, there’s surge tracing,” the prime minister said.
“If we have to do other things, then of course the public would want us to rule nothing out. We have always been clear we would be led by the data.
“At the moment, I can see nothing that dissuades me from thinking we will be able to go ahead on Monday and indeed on June 21, everywhere, but there may be things we have to do locally and we will not hesitate to do them if that is the advice we get,” he added.
The India variant – officially called B.1.617.2 – is one of the four mutated versions of coronavirus which have been designated as being “of concern” by WHO and UK public health bodies. The other infectious strains were first identified in Kent, South Africa and Brazil.
