3,000 households tested in Walsall so far after South African variant found
About 3,000 households have been tested for Covid in Walsall after a case of the more contagious South African variant was confirmed in the area.
Half of the 6,000 homes in the area have been visited by volunteers going door-to-door with testing kits – and only a "handful" of the residents have refused a test, a health boss has said.
The strain was discovered in Walsall's WS2 area and led to urgent testing being launched for the 10,300 residents in the area.
Two mobile testing sites – alongside the home testing kits – were rolled out in the WS2 area last week as part of Operation Eagle.
People who live or work in the area – including Birchills, Pleck, Bescot and Walsall Manor Hospital – were encouraged to get tested.
Councillor Stephen Craddock, Walsall Council's portfolio holder for health and wellbeing, said he thinks some of the results about which variants positive tests are will come back by the end of this week.
He said: "We started last Tuesday and door-to-door started on Wednesday.
"Anybody tested positive will have been contacted in the normal way, the positive tests will then be sequenced and that will take at least seven days.
"We are hugely interested in the information.
Cheered
"We've done about 3,000 in Walsall, the take-up has been amazing.
"The volunteers have been going out in all weather, including the snow, we're trying to make sure the roads are open for them to go around, they're doing a fantastic job.
"The reception from residents has been amazing. We've had a handful of people refuse out of 3,000 households to do the tests.
"The other day when they went down the street they were cheered.
"They've done 3,000 out of 6,000 households, we're doing really well.
"We expect about two per cent to be asymptomatic based on other mass trials, that's the level we expect.
"Certainly not all of the positive tests will be the South African variant, we hope none will."
The person who tested positive for the variant initially tested positive on December 19.
Councillor Craddock said they were contacted and told to self isolate and their partner and work colleagues were all tested and none came back positive.
