How locking down streets could stop new Covid variants
Localised restrictions may be ‘most effective measure possible’ for stopping outbreaks
Locking down individual streets could be an important step in preventing the emergence of new variants of Covid-19, a leading expert has said.
Dr Jeffrey Barrett, director of the Covid-19 Genomics Initiative at the Wellcome Sanger Institute, said it’s important the government deploys “the most effective measures possible” to stem further outbreaks.
Appearing on BBC Radio 4’s Today programme, Dr Barrett said that shutting down streets “certainly could” have an impact, adding: “One of the trickiest parts of this virus overall is… some individuals who are infected don’t have symptoms and so they can transmit.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
“Trying to use interventions that might stop asymptomatic transmission may well be an important part of keeping outbreaks of these new variants to be as absolutely small as possible.”
The Sun reports that “extreme measures” could be on the agenda after “more than half a million adults in south London” were offered Covid PCR tests amid a small outbreak of the South Africa variant.
A separate case was also discovered in Barnet, north London, yesterday, however the Department of Health told the paper that it was “unrelated to other clusters” and “had been isolated and the person’s contacts traced”.
Because there is a “chance” that emerging variants will be “less well neutralised” by vaccines, “it’s really important to be able to try to keep that number as close to zero as possible”, says Dr Barrett, The Telegraph reports.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
“As the restrictions are lifted the key thing to watch will be, does that number ever go up sort of week by week,” he said. “And if so it’s really important to deploy the most effective measures possible to contain those outbreaks.”
Create an account with the same email registered to your subscription to unlock access.
-
Covid four years on: have we got over the pandemic?
Today's Big Question Brits suffering from both lockdown nostalgia and collective trauma that refuses to go away
By Chas Newkey-Burden, The Week UK Published
-
The hollow classroom
Opinion Remote school let kids down. It will take much more than extra tutoring for kids to recover.
By Mark Gimein Published
-
Excess screen time is making children only see what is in front of them
Under the radar The future is looking blurry. And very nearsighted.
By Devika Rao, The Week US Published
-
Covid-19: what to know about UK's new Juno and Pirola variants
in depth Rapidly spreading new JN.1 strain is 'yet another reminder that the pandemic is far from over'
By Arion McNicoll, The Week UK Published
-
Long-term respiratory illness is here to stay
The Explainer Covid is not the only disease with a long version
By Devika Rao, The Week US Published
-
Covid inquiry: the most important questions for Boris Johnson
Talking Point Former PM has faced weeks of heavy criticism from former colleagues at the public hearing
By The Week Staff Published
-
China's pneumonia cases: should we be worried?
The Explainer Experts warn against pushing 'pandemic panic button' following outbreak of respiratory illness
By Keumars Afifi-Sabet, The Week UK Published
-
Vallance diaries: Boris Johnson 'bamboozled' by Covid science
Speed Read Then PM struggled to get his head around key terms and stats, chief scientific advisor claims
By The Week UK Published