Increased testing considered in Wales as concern grows over new Covid variants
Explainer by ITV Wales' political editor Adrian Masters
Increased testing is being considered in Wales as concern grows over several new variants of Covid-19.
A handful of different strains have emerged over the past few months, which appear to be more infectious than the original one that started the pandemic.
These include a UK variant and a South African variant, both of which are present in Wales.
A third - the Brazil variant - is yet to be detected in the UK, although some epidemiologists believe it may already be here.
Across areas of England, targeted coronavirus testing has been rolled out as authorities work to contain the spread of the South African variant.
Door-to-door deliveries began on Tuesday with extra testing in eight postcode areas of the country, as urgent efforts got underway to swab 80,000 people in a bid to stop transmission.
A Welsh Government spokesperson said: “We are considering whether enhanced arrangements, which might include testing, are needed.
“We continue to look for cases through the quarantine and testing arrangements currently in place, as well as through our programme of genomic surveillance.
"We work closely with Public Health Wales and with the wider UK response to monitor, detect and investigate new variants of the virus.”
Ever since the new coronavirus first appeared in Wuhan, China, in 2019, it has mutated thousands of times resulting in countless variants.
Scientists say it is quite common for viruses to mutate and more often than not, these mutations are harmless.
But research suggests that the UK variant, which was first detected in Kent in September 2020, may be up to 50% more transmissible or infectious than the previous version of the virus.
Experts believe this strain has been driving the high rates of cases seen both before and after Christmas.
Both South African and Brazilian variants contain a mutation to the spike protein known as E484K, which may help the virus evade parts of the immune system called antibodies.
It is thought this mutation may make vaccines less effective, although the jabs may still be able to prevent severe disease.
Studies are ongoing to see whether coronavirus vaccines are able to protect against new variants.
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