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Army deployed to Bolton in race to crackdown on Indian variant – as Covid cases soar 158%, Boris says
THE ARMY is set to be deployed in Bolton in a race to crack down on the Indian variant, Prime Minister Boris Johnson has announced this evening.
Cases in the Greater Manchester town have risen by 158 per cent in the last week.
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Surge testing had already been deployed in the area in order to detect cases of the Indian and South African variant.
Tonight Mr Johnson said the army would help push out more surge tests and vaccinations will also be pushed in both Bolton and Blackburn with Darwen - with sites opening for longer in these areas.
He said: "We will be throwing everything we have at this task. Colonel Russ Miller, commander of the North West region, will be deployed to support local leaders in managing the local response on the ground.
"For those living in Bolton there is now a new, greater risk from this variant.
"The army will be out on the streets handing out tests".
Mr Johnson urged people to continue to play their part by getting vaccinated and tested and said this would be the best way to suppress the virus.
It comes as:
- Boris Johnson reveals millions of Brits will get second Covid jab SOONER amid Indian variant fears
- PM warns India variant may DERAIL June 21 lockdown lift and says we face ‘hard choices’ over roadmap
- Indian strain could be 50% MORE infectious & spark surge in hospitalisations, new Sage docs warn
- Scotland lockdown: Local measures RETURN as Nicola Sturgeon delays her roadmap over India variant fears
- Covid R rate creeps up and could be 1.1 in parts of UK – amid fears of Indian variant spreading
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Mr Johnson added: "There will be surge testing with mobile testing units and there will be targeted new activity in Bolton and Blackburn to accelerate the vaccine take up amongst the eligible cohorts including longer opening hours at sites."
Despite the swift actions, Mr Johnson reassured Brits that his roadmap out of lockdown would continue on Monday.
The plan will mean that pubs can open indoors and overnight stays will be permitted - did however warn though that it could push back further lifting of restrictions in June.
Sage papers released today, taken from a meeting yesterday stated that in the areas where numbers of infections are increasing rapidly under the measures currently in place, an even faster increase can be expected if measures are relaxed.
This means that the government advisers believe not tightening restrictions now as infections are rising in areas such as Bolton could mean they continue to rise at a faster pace.
It is believed that the Indian variant is more transmissible than those already in circulation.
Mr Johnson tonight said it wasn't clear yet how much more transmissible the virus is.
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The variant isn't thought to evade vaccines and the three being rolled out across the UK will still give people protection, it is understood.
The Sage papers stated that if vaccination reduces the likelihood of transmission for this variant, increasing regional vaccination in areas where it is prevalent could dampen growth in infections, although it takes several weeks for vaccines to provide protection.
Sage added: "The benefits would need to be balanced against the costs of moving vaccines from elsewhere.
"There is not yet any clear evidence of any difference in disease severity following infection with this variant.
"The number of hospitalisations remains low in the affected areas, though this could be because the number of infections has only recently increased."
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Mr Johnson said: "I have to level with you that this new variant could pose a serious disruption to our progress and could make it harder to move to stage 4 in June.
"We will do whatever it takes to keep the public safe."
Bolton currently has the highest rate of coronavirus infections in the country, with 657 new cases in the seven days to May 10 - the equivalent of 228.5 cases per 100,000 people.
This is up from 88.7 in the seven days to May 3.
Erewash in Derbyshire has the second highest rate, up from 88.4 to 163.0, with 188 new cases.
Blackburn with Darwen has the third highest, up from 56.8 to 111.6, with 167 new cases.
Public health officials in Bolton had last week asked the government to roll out surge testing and one expert today said that it had been speaking to the government about rolling out jabs faster.
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The leader of Bolton Council David Greenhalgh told BBC Radio 4's The World at One: "This is an issue of capacity but we have had very, very constructive talks and certainly all the soundings are is that they are looking to progress that as soon as possible.
"The vast majority of our cases are in their teens, 20s and 30s at the moment.
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"If we can get vaccinations to (those aged) 16-plus, which are licensed by Pfizer, then it will make a total transformation of transmission as it moves forward.
"I think realistically that would start in targeted areas where we see the predominance (of the virus) currently."
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