THE frantic search continues for the mystery Brazil Covid variant traveller – as experts warn vaccine efficacy could be hit.
Matt Hancock has made a desperate plea for the 'missing' person who was infected with the worryingManaus P1 strain to urgently come forward.
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Who is the mystery Brazil Covid variant traveller?
A nationwide search continues for a mystery person infected with a Brazilian variant of Coronavirus.
They didn't put down the right information on their forms after flying into the UK, sparking a frantic search for them.
They may not have even known they were infected with Covid.
Ministers have branded the new variant a "concern" because it may be more resistant to jabs.
Vaccines Minister Nadhim Zahawi said a massive effort was underway to locate the missing Covid patient and that they need to be found "as soon as possible" so measures can be taken to squash any outbreak.
He urged anyone who took a test across the country on February 12 or 13 and has not yet had their result back to come forward by calling NHS 119 in England.
But he admitted the authorities currently know very little about the person, including where they took the test and whether or not they entered the country from abroad.
Mr Zahawi told Sky News: "In terms of its profile this P1 variant is much closer to the South African variant which we’ve been dealing with now for several weeks by surge testing, genome sequencing, and isolation.
"This is a variant of concern. It’s very similar in terms of its mutations to the South African variant so it is concerning.
"There is one case who the individual didn’t fill in their test card details so we can contact them. They probably got a home kit or a test kit from their local authority.
"What we’re asking today is if anyone had a test on February 12 or 13 to contact NHS 119 so we make sure we identify that individual."
What is being done to locate the missing person?
Dr Susan Hopkins, of Public Health England, said the mystery UK case was probably tested on February 12 or 13, possibly via a home postal kit.
But the online form was not properly completed, so the Royal Mail has been supporting health bosses.
The Royal Mail is helping to identify where the coronavirus testing kit was sent from.
Also, there has been plenty of publicity about the missing infected person – with headlines about the mystery traveller hitting news sites in the UK and across the globe.
Matt Hancock told the March 1 press conference: "We are trying to track down this individual, but we also have not seen any further community spread."
A government spokesperson told The Sun: "Very occasionally we do have a test result where the individual has not provided their details.
"Every effort is underway to locate this person and in the meantime it is important people come forward for testing, continue to follow the restrictions in place and stay at home whenever possible."
Anyone who took a test on February 12 or 13 but didn't receive their result or has an uncompleted test registration card is urged to call 119 in England or 0300 303 2713 in Scotland for help as soon as possible.
What about the other cases?
Six strains of the Brazil variant have been found in the UK so far – and people living in five areas have been advised to get a coronavirus swab at surge testing sites.
Three cases of the variant of concern first identified in Manaus, Brazil – known as the P.1 strain – have been identified by Public Health England (PHE).
Two are from one household in South Gloucestershire with a history of travel to Brazil. They originated with someone who arrived from Sao Paolo before hotel quarantine came into force on February 15.
A third infection – of the mystery missing person – is understood to be an unlinked case in England.
The other three infections were identified in north-east Scotland.
Residents who live in five postcode areas in South Gloucestershire, who are aged over 16 and do not have symptoms of Covid-19, are invited to come forward for testing.
Mr Hancock said: "Our goal is to contain this transmission to just these six people. We will obviously be looking out for that very, very carefully."
Nick Thomas-Symonds, the shadow home secretary, said: “This is further proof that the delay in introducing a hotel quarantine was reckless and the continuing refusal to put in place a comprehensive system leaves us exposed to mutations coming from overseas."
What do we know about the P1 variant?
In Brazil, a variant of Covid, known as P1, emerged that was first was identified in four travellers from Brazil – who were tested during routine screening at Haneda airport outside Tokyo, Japan.
"This variant has 17 unique mutations, including three in the receptor binding domain of the spike protein. This variant was detected in the US at the end of January 2021," says the Centres for Disease Control and Prevention in America.
Researchers say an aggressive surge killing thousands of people in Manausis largely due to the new variant of the virus discovered in the capital and largest city of the Brazilian state of Amazonas.
P1 has quickly become the dominant variant, leading scientists to believe it is more contagious.
Genome sequencing indicates that 91 per cent of new Covid cases in January in Amazonas state involved the new variant, said Felipe Naveca, a local virologist.
Prof Christophe Fraser, from Oxford's medical school, who worked on the UK's Test and Trace app, warned that the Brazil variant could affect the vaccine rollout.
He told Sky News the strain "can re-infect people who have been infected naturally."
Prof Fraser added: "In Manaus, Brazil… that population had an incredibly high infection rate in the first wave, and yet was re-infected.
"What we don't know is the degree of protection the vaccines provide against this strain… we have quite a lot of data that suggests we should be a little bit concerned on the possibility that it could spread.
"We think, probably, that [the jabs] would probably reduce the rate of hospitalisation or death, but there's enough to be concerned."
Dr Jeffrey Barrett, director of the Covid-19 Genomics Initiative at the Wellcome Sanger Institute, admits there could be more people infected with the Brazilian Covid strain going undetected.
That's because only a small percentage of positive tests are having their genomes read.
"The hope being that as case numbers continue to go down and our capacity for sequencing continues to go up we could be capturing a larger fraction of all the infections," he told BBC Radio 4.
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