Wakefield Council issues warning over new South African strain of Covid

Health Secretary Matt Hancock confirmed this afternoon that two cases of the new variant of the virus have been confirmed in the UK.

Both people who have tested positive for the variant had recently travelled to South Africa, where the variant has been linked to a recent surge in cases.

These are the latest Covid figures for every area of Wakefield, Ossett, Pontefract and Castleford

The government has placed restrictions on travel from the country, and has also said that anyone who has returned from South Africa in the past fortnight, or been in close contact with someone who has, should begin isolating immediately.

Wakefield Council is also urging people to abide by the new rules ahead of Christmas.

A total of 15,406 cases of the virus have been confirmed in the Wakefield district to date, and more than 700 people have died after testing positive for the virus.

Anna Hartley, Wakefield’s Director of Public Health, said: “This new variant is yet more transmissible and appears to have mutated further - so it is vitally important that any of our residents who have recently returned from South Africa or are contacts of someone who has, must quarantine immediately.

“Our residents have worked really hard to follow the rules and that’s why we have decreased the infection rate across our district. If we continue to follow the Tier 3 restrictions, particularly over the festive period, this will help to control the risk of any new variants spreading.”

Earlier this week, the Council asked people to be mindful of the risks of mixing with other households over Christmas, warning that doing so will "significantly increase" the risk of infection.