WAR ON BUGS
A "WORRIED" Boris Johnson will send in the Army to Britain's worst Indian variant hotspots after experts warned the Covid strain could cause 1,000 deaths a day.
Soldiers will be deployed on the streets of areas worst hit by the variant to hand out tests and slow the spread.
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It comes after government scientists said last night the Indian variant could "realistically" be 50% more infectious than the Kent strain - and could see up to 10,000 daily hospitalisations by summer.
Troops will help surge-testing efforts in Bolton – which is fighting a spike in infections almost ten times higher than the UK average – and neighbouring Blackburn, the reports.
Chief Medical Officer Chris Whitty said that it is "highly likely" that the strain is more transmissible.
And Mr Johnson pledged: "We will be throwing everything we have at this task."
A Government source told : “The PM is very worried.
“We know that case numbers are increasing very rapidly. The main difference is the fact we have the vaccine in our armoury now.
"We’re watching closely to see the impact on hospitalisations.”
Meanwhile, Bolton Council chief executive Tony Oakman has said he wants increased payments for people who are self-isolating.
He told BBC Breakfast: "The areas that this Indian variant has particularly taken a hold in are areas with low incomes, deprivation, mixed households, and therefore if you're on a limited income and you're thinking 'Where am I going to pay for the food?
"How am I going to survive this week?', then you might be tempted to not isolate."
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It comes after Sage warned increased transmission could "lead to a substantial resurgence of hospitalisations (similar to, or larger than, previous peaks)".
Chris Whitty added that the strain was "quite widely seeded in a number of parts of England" and could overtake the Kent strain to become dominant in the UK.
He warned the UK could see "a really significant surge" in Covid cases if it proves to be a lot more transmissible, adding: "That's a really critical question to which we do not yet have the answer."
A Warwick University modelling team cautioned that if the Indian variant was 40 per cent more transmissible, the next surge could be worse than the second wave, with up to 6,000 daily admissions.
Meanwhile, a 50 per cent increase could lead to 10,000 per day.
Less grisly numbers from the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine suggested a 50 per cent rise could lead to 4,000 per day.
It comes as:
- The Indian variant is 50 per cent more transmissible, new SAGE documents revealed
- The PM announced the gap between first and second jabs would be slashed to eight weeks
- Chris Whitty said the next few weeks were critical for finding out more about the faster spreading of the India variant
- Four people have now died from the Indian variant, PHE said earlier
- The army will be brought in to help in Bolton, to clamp down on a surge in cases, and vaccine sites will be kept open even longer too.
- Experts warned that the Indian variant could be up to 60 per cent more transmissible than the Kent strain
- Nicola Sturgeon slowed
- The Covid R rate crept up and could be 1.1 in parts of UK
- Boris said it was unlikely that any more countries will be added to the green list anytime soon
The Indian variant has killed four people in Britain between May 5 and 12, out of 97 total Covid deaths in that period.
And it has led to the Prime Minister pleading with the public to use their common sense, warning there could be "hard choices in the weeks ahead".
The PM said last night that the new strain would not delay current unlocking for May 17 - but could derail his roadmap in June.
He told a Downing Street briefing: "I do not believe that we need, on the present evidence, to delay our road map and we will proceed with our plan to move to step three in England from Monday.
"But I have to level with you that this new variant could pose a serious disruption to our progress and could make it more difficult to move to step four in June."
Pals will still be able to meet in homes and pubs from Monday when the next state of lockdown easing goes ahead as planned from May 17.
But the scheduled end of all legal restrictions on June 21 could be kicked down the road if the super-infectious strain continues to spread, he warned.
Sounding a note of caution, the PM said: "I do not believe that we need, on the present evidence, to delay our roadmap and we will proceed with our plan to move to step three in England from Monday.
"But I have to level with you that this new variant could pose a serious disruption to our progress and could make it more difficult to move to step four in June."
Spikes in cases of the highly-infectious Indian variant are causing a headache for ministers.
When asked if the 21 June unlocking would go ahead as planned, he replied: "I think the truth is that we, at this stage, simply can't say for certain, as things stand...
"We rule nothing out.
"There is the risk of disruption and delay. We take nothing off the table of means of controlling this virus and this variant, and we will do whatever it takes to keep you all safe."
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The PM admitted that the race between the vaccine programme and the virus was about to get tighter, and that the June 21 total reopening may now be thrown off track.
And he's taken swift action to get more second doses in people's arms quicker, so they are even more protected against Covid.
Currently there's a 12-week gap between first and second jabs, because studies have shown it generates more antibodies overall, but this will now be cut to eight.
He said last night: "We will accelerate remaining second doses, especially for the clinically vulnerable, right across the country, to just eight weeks after the first date.
"And if you are in this group the NHS, will be in touch with you. We will also prioritise first jabs for anyone eligible who has not yet come forward."
Indian variant cases have more than doubled in the space of seven days from 520 last week to 1,313 this, sparking alarm in Whitehall.
More than 800,000 tests have been sent into the worst affected areas which include Bolton, Formby, and parts of London.
Extra surge testing will be sent to Bolton to try and find as many cases of the new variant as possible.
The PM said the evidence so far shows that the new variant is spreading more quickly - but it's not yet clear how much.
And he urged everyone if they were seeing loved ones to "think really carefully" about getting close to them - especially those living in Bolton.
The PM added: "There is now a greater risk from this new period and so I urge you to be extra cautious, our best chance of suppressing this variant is to clamp down on it, wherever it is and we'll be throwing everything we can, at this task."
He refused also to rule out getting over 18s their first jabs quicker, too, but no final calls have been made on this yet.
Professor Chris Whitty said that over time the India variant will become dominant in the same way the Kent strain took over.
He explained: "There are some things we want to look for and if it's a lot more transmissible it could imply we could have a really significant surge, if its medium - it will be a bit more of a race between virus and vaccine."
Boris also warned it was unlikely that more countries would be added to the green list anytime toon.
He said: "We remain alive to any change in the data and we'll react accordingly.
"I think the same spirit of caution should apply to people thinking of travelling abroad.
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"There is a very limited list as you know and we will make sure that people travelling abroad will be subject to all the tests and restraints that people would expect to prevent the virus from being reimported.
"It's such a tiny list of countries and I don't expect we'll be adding to it very rapidly."
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The Sun Says
BORIS Johnson’s measured reaction to the Indian variant is the right one. But why are we even in this position?
His decision to delay travel restrictions from India last month was folly given the horrific scenes there and the discovery of this variant in March.
The Government was too slow with border curbs at the start of this crisis. It is disheartening that it failed to learn from that.
But the PM and his scientists have at least kept the uptick in cases in perspective. Our position is entirely different from last year when we were defenceless.
Vast numbers of us have been jabbed at least once. Many have near-total protection against hospitalisation or death, neither of which has so far risen even in the Indian variant hotspots.
So, as Boris says, it is right still to reopen on Monday but to keep June 21’s final unlocking under review.
This is hopefully just a last bump in the road. But it should not be happening at all.
Army deployed to Bolton in race to crackdown on Indian variant – as Covid cases soar 158%, Boris says