The government said on Monday that six cases of the Omicron CCP (Chinese Communist Party) virus variant were found in Scotland.
Not all cases have a recent travel history, suggesting some community infection.
According to the Scottish Government, four cases were confirmed in the Lanarkshire area and the other two were confirmed in the Greater Glasgow and Clyde areas.
This brings the total number of known Omicron mutation cases in the UK to 9, and previously identified 3 cases in the UK.
Scottish Health Secretary Humza Yousaf said the Scottish Public Health Service “will carry out enhanced contact tracing in all cases.”
“This helps identify the origin of the virus and other individuals who have come into contact with it in the last few weeks,” he said.
Deputy Prime Minister John Swinney said he had no travel history in some of the identified cases, and added that Nicola Sturgeon later did not know the connection with people who traveled to southern Africa.
“At this stage, we know that we do not have a recent travel history or known connection with others who have traveled to the countries of southern Africa where the subspecies was first detected.” Sturgeon said.
“This suggests that a community infection of this variant may have already occurred in Scotland, but evidence that this is persistent has also been strengthened at this stage. I emphasize that there is no evidence from surveillance, “she added.
The first Prime Minister urged people to continue taking precautions, such as wearing masks, and to “significantly strengthen and strengthen compliance” with all existing precautions.
She said it was likely a “fast-moving situation” and that the response would be maintained under close consideration.
The first two cases of Omicron in the UK (Nottingham and Essex) were announced on Saturday, and the third case was detected on Sunday in a person who had a travel link to South Africa in the UK and is no longer in the UK.
According to local officials, the Essex case contained “some symptoms,” but it was not a serious illness.
Dr. Michael Gogarty, director of public health at the Essex Council, said the person was “healthy” and isolated from his family.
Investigations are underway to determine the infectivity of Omicron and its potential to avoid innate or vaccine-induced immunity.
The British government has restricted travel from 10 African countries (Angola, Botswana, Eswatini, Lesoto, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, South Africa, Zambia, Zimbabwe) and will arrive in the UK after 4 am on Tuesday. All international flights must be self-reported. Isolate for 10 days unless the mandatory PCR test on the second day of arrival gives a negative result.
The sturgeon, along with Wales’ first minister, Mark Drakeford, sent a letter to Prime Minister Boris Johnson requesting an emergency cabinet meeting on the new variety.
“We need to work collectively and effectively as a group of four to control the invasion of the virus into the country and take all reasonable steps to limit its spread,” the letter said. Says.
“It is clear that the four-country approach to issues such as border restrictions is the most effective approach. This requires a Cobra meeting. [Cabinet Office Briefing Rooms] The committee will meet as soon as possible. “
When asked about the proposed meeting, a Johnson spokesman said, “There is nothing planned” at the moment.
“Obviously, we talk very regularly with the delegated executive counterparts and continue to coordinate our response with them,” he said.
Downing Street also rejected the call to extend the period of self-isolation of travelers from sturgeon and Drakeford to the results of tests on the eighth day after arriving in the UK, saying it would have a “bad effect” on the travel industry. rice field.
PA contributed to this report.
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Lily Zhou is a freelance writer who mainly covers the British news of The Epoch Times.