Page 2 | South London surge testing

ThinkAboutItTomorrow · 2021-04-13T18:55:42+00:00

I live in Wandsworth. Apparently everyone should book a surge test due to this South African variant. I went to book this morning but the soonest test slot is Monday. This weekend pubs & restaurants will be full (& they've pedestrianised the streets to make plenty of capacity). it seems like very mixed messaging. We're going away tomorrow for a long weekend in a holiday cottage. I'm booked in to a theme park on Friday and 2 pubs. If this risk is high they'd put more restrictions back on, wouldn't they? 77 cases out of 650000 people makes the risk tiny. But I still feel conflicted.

MRex · 14/04/2021 10:36

I'd just order a postal test rather than hang about if you're asymptomatic, it'll get the job done just the same.

SquirmOfEels · 14/04/2021 10:48

SKY is being nice and pessimistic

"Scientists 'very concerned' about cluster of South African variant cases in south London and warn lockdown easing may need to be reversed if it expands (see 6.50 and 8.16 posts on rolling news)
Surge testing deployed as 44 cases of variant found in Lambeth and Wandsworth, with another 30 probable cases identified"

I think they're being premature. Finding more cases is of course not good, but mass testing elsewhere has not found very many.

Beebityboo · 14/04/2021 10:58

@SquirmOfEels

SKY is being nice and pessimistic

"Scientists 'very concerned' about cluster of South African variant cases in south London and warn lockdown easing may need to be reversed if it expands (see 6.50 and 8.16 posts on rolling news)
Surge testing deployed as 44 cases of variant found in Lambeth and Wandsworth, with another 30 probable cases identified"

I think they're being premature. Finding more cases is of course not good, but mass testing elsewhere has not found very many.

Yeah this is the article that has sent me into a bit of an anxiety spiral this morning.

mrsknottschicken · 14/04/2021 11:00

I'm so frustrated at our rather lax travel restrictions, though. They need to be really tight right now, and it doesn't feel like they are.

bookworm1632 · 14/04/2021 11:00

@ThinkAboutItTomorrow

I've ordered postal tests which I'll do after the weekend. It's extremely unlikely we have it atm as we've hardly gone out for weeks.

From what I've read the vaccine 'should' still work to stop serious illness from the SA variant so with most of the vulnerable vaccinated we should be ok. Surely There's no need to worry about a virus that most people don't know they have and only a tiny number would even be hospitalised by, however virulent it is?

On a personal level, no, not at the moment - providing you're vaccinated.

But at a national level, it's a major concern.

There are only two things preventing the virus from spreading to every person in the UK - the extent to which vaccination stops transmission and restrictions which are currently in the process of being relaxed. The SA variant takes away most of the ability of vaccines to stop transmission, so if we ignore it there are only two possible outcomes.

The SA variant spreads until either everyone gets it
We reverse the lockdown exit until boosters are produced to fight it

So your question might be what's the issue with the first if "the vulnerable" are all vaccinated. Well for starters the protection given by the vaccine against the SA variant is lower than against say the Kent variant - we don't know how much lower yet. And this against a background of the virus spreading uncontrollably - a situation that has not previously been allowed to arise - even at the peak of the 2nd wave, only a tiny fraction of people in any area had the virus.

Secondly and more importantly THIS is the perfect scenario for more vaccine resistant strains to emerge - an uncontrolled spread through a partially vaccinated population.

nordica · 14/04/2021 19:03

Barnet now added to the surge testing areas too and they think the case there was unconnected to the S London cluster.

Feels like it's only a matter of time before it spreads all over London as restrictions ease but maybe I'm being too pessimistic...

How many areas can they surge test though? And you could test tomorrow and someone becomes infectious the day after and spreads it.

ExpulsoCorona · 14/04/2021 19:06

There are loads more testing sites now and if you get a home kit, they are asking that they are dropped off at drop-off sites rather than being posted back so that they are tested for variants: www.wandsworth.gov.uk/health-and-social-care/public-health/coronavirus/surge-testing/

HolmeH · 14/04/2021 19:15

So if cases were linked to a care home where they had mostly AZ & a couple Pfizer & none of those residents became seriously ill .. can we not conclude that actually, these vaccines are effective against this strain?!

MarshaBradyo · 14/04/2021 19:20

We’re in a nearby borough I’m hoping we don’t reverse on anything

Tealightsandd · 14/04/2021 19:20

If the government is so concerned, the question to ask is why did they allow this to happen. Why didn't they introduce real quarantine - that's for all new arrivals, none of this red list wait until it's too late and mix at the airport nonsense? Some in Labour are calling for this but it seems to fall on deaf ears. Presumably the government prefers to risk a delay to lifting of restrictions and/or many more avoidable deaths and long covid cases.

SunshiningBetty · 14/04/2021 19:24

This is nothing. Wait for all the surge testing that will have to happen when people bring all manner of variants back from their ‘essential’ holiday abroad. Lockdown in Autumn is almost certain.

mrsknottschicken · 14/04/2021 19:54

@SunshiningBetty

This is nothing. Wait for all the surge testing that will have to happen when people bring all manner of variants back from their ‘essential’ holiday abroad. Lockdown in Autumn is almost certain.

This is what I fear...international travel this year is a monumentally stupid idea (just like Christmas mixing was).

IceCreamAndCandyfloss · 14/04/2021 20:08

@SunshiningBetty

This is nothing. Wait for all the surge testing that will have to happen when people bring all manner of variants back from their ‘essential’ holiday abroad. Lockdown in Autumn is almost certain.

I know, feels like Christmas all over again. No doubt complete with endless moaning when restrictions are needed again.

Alonim · 14/04/2021 20:25

We’re in London. Went into London today to the zoo - on the tube. It was empty there but rammed on the way back. Literally packed as it was before Covid ever appeared.

This SA variant will spread like wildfire all over London. I’m not wanting to be negative but ... it’s worrying...

AcornAutumn · 14/04/2021 20:33

@Beebityboo

I am so bloody worried about this

. I desperately hope they don't extend May 17th restriction lifting because of it.

That's the whole point of it, combined with next week's court case.

Weren't the majority of South London cases linked to one care home?

DonGray · 14/04/2021 20:36

You can now book at pharmacies on the wandsworth council website (if you scroll down)
The postal tests have to be returned to the council test sites in person so not so convenient

Queenoftheashes · 14/04/2021 20:40

I booked and got a test same day at the roehampton site and when I got there the dude said I could do it in my car and he just dropped the test in my window and came back to collect. If I wanted to get out and do it on the site I’d have had to wait. But they had plenty of people going around giving tests to people in cars. No one asked me my name. I’d just rock up.

CloudPop · 14/04/2021 22:22

Had anyone had a look at what the impact of the SA variant is on SA? Their 7 day average is 1015 with minimal lockdown. UK 2306 after 3 months of stricter lockdown. Similar sized populations. My point being, the SA variant is not having that much of an impact in SA so think maybe we need to just cool the rhetoric down a bit on this. Yes of course it needs to be controlled - but given this was first identified mid Dec and there have been a total of 300-400 cases identified in the UK over that total time span, maybe we should apply a bit of perspective

PrincessNutNuts · 14/04/2021 22:43

They've expanded surge testing to Barnet and Southwark plus Smethiwick in the West Midlands.

https://amp.theguardian.com/world/2021/apr/14/surge-testing-for-covid-expanded-to-two-more-london-postcodes?twitterrimpression=true

PrincessNutNuts · 14/04/2021 23:20

@CloudPop

Had anyone had a look at what the impact of the SA variant is on SA? Their 7 day average is 1015 with minimal lockdown. UK 2306 after 3 months of stricter lockdown. Similar sized populations. My point being, the SA variant is not having that much of an impact in SA so think maybe we need to just cool the rhetoric down a bit on this. Yes of course it needs to be controlled - but given this was first identified mid Dec and there have been a total of 300-400 cases identified in the UK over that total time span, maybe we should apply a bit of perspective

Our main vaccine is Oxford- Astra Zeneca.

Oxford-Astra Zeneca doesn't work very well against the SA variant.

We don't want to give it the slightest chance to get going fo we?

CloudPop · 15/04/2021 08:29

No of course we don't, I completely agree. I'm just baffled by how little impact it is actually having in South Africa itself.

SquirmOfEels · 15/04/2021 08:37

The messaging for what to do if you are totally housebound, or if you are recently deshielded and avoiding (as per instructions) queuing with strangers etc, has been totally inadequate.

How to get tests delivered to home, and how to arrange a pick up to the correct place for the surge testing, really ought to be part of the instructions from the off. Or perhaps they're just not bothered about getting results from those who don't mix much with other people?

MRex · 15/04/2021 08:39

@SquirmOfEels

The messaging for what to do if you are totally housebound, or if you are recently deshielded and avoiding (as per instructions) queuing with strangers etc, has been totally inadequate.

How to get tests delivered to home, and how to arrange a pick up to the correct place for the surge testing, really ought to be part of the instructions from the off. Or perhaps they're just not bothered about getting results from those who don't mix much with other people?

You can order a home test in the normal way and there's an option to say your local council asked you to test: www.gov.uk/get-coronavirus-test. You need a PCR test, scroll down to the green "start now" button.

user34254356 · 15/04/2021 08:41

Do the home tests ordered online need to be dropped off to one of the sites? The queues are enormously long and for people who work, it's not really feasible to do this on a weekday

EssentialHummus · 15/04/2021 08:45

We’re in London. Went into London today to the zoo - on the tube. It was empty there but rammed on the way back. Literally packed as it was before Covid ever appeared.

This SA variant will spread like wildfire all over London. I’m not wanting to be negative but ... it’s worrying...

I wonder if the tube was packed because people were having lots of nice outings to places in central London like the zoo. I mean, all the best to you, but "Oooh the tube was so busy!" from someone on their way home from a jolly? I'll wait for the update saying that you work in the penguin enclosure or something.