Covid live: Savid Javid says new variant ‘may pose substantial risk’ as more countries impose travel restrictions | World news

Labour MP Ruth Jones asks about sporting occasions as a consequence of happen in South Africa this weekend, together with the United Rugby Championship which Cardiff Rugby and Scarlets Rugby have travelled to.

She asks what help is being given to them to get them house earlier than the noon deadline for the pink listing.

Javid says whether or not it’s sports activities groups or British vacationers that discover themselves in these nations, that is “very troublesome information” however he hopes they perceive.

On the rugby groups particularly, the well being secretary says:

Nothing. We gained’t do something to assist them get again earlier than this deadline. As a result of I feel anybody who’s in South Africa, one of the best factor to do is to return again and after 4am on Sunday and go into lodge quarantine.

Labour MP Meg Hillier asks whether or not there was any indication from southern African nations in regards to the impression of the variant on youngsters – and whether or not there are plans to supply second doses to youngsters within the UK.

Javid says “this has moved so quick” that there have been no indications but in regards to the potential impression on youngsters specifically.

Within the UK, the kid vaccination programme is “going properly” however he says we might look forward to skilled recommendation from the JCVI on second doses.

Labour MP Pat McFadden says one of many classes of the brand new variant is that if we don’t deal with the “monumental” vaccine inequality world wide we’ll proceed to be uncovered to new variants.

He asks if Javid agrees that the UK and different wealthy nations should guarantee surplus doses are distributed to nations that do want them.

Javid says he agrees “with each phrase”, particularly round surplus vaccines.

Labour MP Rachael Maskell asks if Javid may give “clear management” about taking additional public well being measures resembling mask-wearing, social distancing and higher air flow.

The well being secretary says she makes a “good level about the necessity to comply with steerage and the foundations which can be at the moment in place”.

Plan A stays the coverage “that I feel we want at the moment”, Javid provides – however it’s stored beneath overview and “if we have to go additional we’ll”.

Tory MP Liam Fox says there’s a must “redouble our efforts” to vaccinate populations throughout the globe, and asks what do we all know up to now in regards to the severity of sickness with the brand new variant.

Javid says “we don’t know sufficient but”, however from what we are able to inform it signifies there’s a “chance” it may need a special impression on somebody in the event that they get contaminated.

On the nations added to the pink listing, Javid says the federal government is at the moment going primarily by nations the place the brand new variant has been detected, he says – including it’s been confirmed in South Africa and Botswana.

The opposite 4 nations have been included as a “precaution”.

He says “we’re holding this beneath overview and there’s very reside discussions happening” about including additional nations.

Responding to Javid’s assertion, the shadow public well being minister Alex Norris says Labour is glad to see “swift motion” and including nations to the pink listing is the “proper name” and the celebration helps it – after the federal government took too lengthy to behave on Delta and the variant was “allowed to run free”.

He asks why these particular nations have been added and never the broader group of nations the place circumstances of the variant have been detected, asking if they are going to be required to make use of PCR exams on arrival fairly than lateral move ones.

The information right now mirrored a failure of the worldwide group to distribute vaccines to low-income nations, he says.

Norris provides “we have to go additional and sooner with vaccination at house”, including there are “big pockets of the nation” the place “important numbers” of individuals stay unvaccinated.

“This can be a sobering reminder of the challenges that this pandemic brings,” he says.

This can be a reminder for all of us that this pandemic is much from over, Javid says.

We should proceed to behave with warning and do all we are able to to maintain the virus at bay, together with when eligible getting your booster shot, he provides.

The booster jab was already vital earlier than we knew about this new variant, he says, however now it couldn’t be extra vital.

From noon on Friday, six nations – South Africa, Botswana, Lesotho, Eswatini, Namibia and Zimbabwe – shall be positioned on the journey pink listing, Javid says.

Anybody not a UK or Irish resident who has been in considered one of these nations within the final ten days shall be denied entry into England, he says.

UK and Irish residents arriving from these nations from 4am on Sunday will enter lodge quarantine, he says.

Anybody arriving earlier than these dates ought to take PCR exams on day two and day eight, even when they’re vaccinated, and isolate at house together with the remainder of their family, he says.

When you’ve got arrived from any of those nations within the final ten days, Check and Hint will contact you to take PCR exams, he says.

However don’t wait to be contacted – it’s best to take a PCR take a look at instantly, he provides.

We should transfer shortly and on the earliest doable second, Javid says.

The UK is in a robust place due to reopening through the summer season and the continuing booster programme, he says.

We should act with warning, he says.

We’re additionally fearful about rising circumstances in nations in southern Africa, Javid says, particularly as these populations ought to have important pure immunity.

In South Africa, there was exponential development, with circumstances rising four-fold within the final two weeks, he says.

In Gauteng province, which incorporates Johannesburg and Pretoria, some 80% of circumstances, when examined with a PCR take a look at, have proven one thing generally known as the S gene dropout, which we affiliate with this variant, he says.

So whereas we don’t know but definitively if the exponential development of circumstances in South Africa is immediately related to this variant, this PCR take a look at evaluation does point out that there could possibly be many extra circumstances than simply these up to now sequenced, he says.

It has most of the options of the Alpha, Beta and Delta variants, Javid says.

Early indications present the variant could also be extra transmissible than Delta, he says, and present vaccines could also be much less efficient in opposition to it.

It might additionally impression the effectiveness of considered one of our main therapies, he says.

We’re involved this new variant could pose substantial danger to public well being, Javid says.

The variant has an unusually giant variety of mutations, he says.

Yesterday, the UK Well being Safety Company categorized the variant as a brand new variant beneath investigation, and the Variant Technical Group has designated it as a brand new variant beneath investigation with very excessive precedence, he says.

It’s the solely variant with this designation, Javid says, making it increased precedence than Beta.

Additional circumstances have been recognized in South Africa and Botswana, he says, and it’s extremely seemingly it has now unfold to different nations.

This can be a fast-moving state of affairs and there stays a excessive diploma of uncertainty, Javid says.

The sequence of the variant – B.1.1.529 – was first uploaded by Hong Kong from a case of somebody travelling from South Africa, he says.

The UK was the primary to establish the risk from this new variant and alert worldwide companions, he says.

Over the previous 24 hours a small variety of circumstances of a brand new variant have been detected within the worldwide genomic database, Javid says.

There are not any detected circumstances within the UK at the moment, he provides.

However this variant is of giant worldwide concern, he says.

The WHO has referred to as a particular assembly this morning which is happening proper now, he says.

The UK well being secretary, Sajid Javid, will ship a press release to the Commons shortly, giving an replace on the B.1.1.529 variant, which consultants have referred to as the “most worrying we’ve seen”.

There’s a assembly on the World Well being Group (WHO) beginning very shortly over the brand new variant. Right here is the assertion they’ve given to the media:

WHO is carefully monitoring the just lately reported variant B.1.1.529. Up to now beneath 100 sequences have been reported. Early evaluation exhibits that this variant has a lot of mutations that require and can endure additional research. We’re grateful for researchers in South Africa and consultants on WHO’s Technical Advisory Group on Virus Evolution (TAG-VE) who’re assessing this variant.

WHO is convening a gathering of the TAG-VE right now to higher perceive the timeline for research which can be underway and to find out if this variant must be designated as a variant of curiosity or variant of concern.

There is no such thing as a reside press convention or something like that deliberate at this second in time, however we expect the result of the assembly to be shared with the media later right now.