A mysterious person with a worrying Brazilian variant of the coronavirus in the UK has been found after an extensive hunt.
Six cases of the variant, which originated in the Amazon city of Manaus, had been discovered in the UK – but the identity of the final patient was unknown as they were unable to fill out a test registration card.
On Wednesday, the search was narrowed down to 379 households in the south of England, and that person has now been found in South London, health secretary Matt Hancock announced at a news conference on Friday.
Hancock said the “best evidence is that this person stayed at home” and that there was no sign of “onward transmission.” Further testing is to minimize the spread of the variant known as P1.
Johnson from the UK wants to reassure the British about new virus strains
The search for the missing patient raised government concern as it is not yet known whether the Brazilian variant is resistant to the vaccines being rolled out in the UK.
Despite the success of the UK vaccination program so far – two in five adults have had an injection so far – the episode highlights the challenges facing the testing and tracking system to track how the virus is spreading across the country.
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson has warned that the emergence of a potentially vaccine-resistant variety could derail the planned timing for reopening parts of the economy that have been blocked for more than two months. Outdoor non-essential shops and catering will reopen in April.
Updates with Matt Hancock references in Sections 1, 3 and 4