Three cases of Omicron Covid-19 variant found in North Hampshire
Three people have tested positive for the new variant of Covid-19 in Basingstoke
Three cases of the new Covid-19 variant Omicron have been detected in North Hampshire.
All three were found in the Basingstoke area. At least one of the cases was confirmed at the Hatch Warren Junior School. All of those who've tested positive are now self isolating and key contacts are being traced and tested.
The UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) has been called in to help with targeted testing, with Mobile Testing Units set to be at Hatch Warren this week.
All Year 4 pupils and teachers at the school have also been asked to isolate.
Emma Richards, consultant in health protection at UKHSA South East, said:
“Following the cases of the new Omicron variant being confirmed in the Basingstoke district, it is critically important that we do everything we can to help stop its spread while we learn more about how infectious it is, whether it could cause more severe illness and how effective our vaccines are to this variant.
"Health protection experts at the UKHSA have been working with Hampshire County Council’s Public Health team to investigate where the individuals have been while in the area and targeted PCR testing will be carried out for the contacts they had.”