People should take part even if they do not have symptoms, have had a coronavirus vaccine, or have had a recent rapid test. Please use Chrome browser for a more accessible video player. Four people from two unconnected households were found with the EK mutation, Manchester City Council said, and 10, extra tests will now be distributed.
The mutation is linked to the coronavirus variant first identified in the South East that spreads more easily. Extra sites are being set up to test anyone who lives, studies or works in the affected postcode areas, which include Moss Side, Hulme, Fallowfield and Whalley Range.
People should take part even if they do not have symptoms, have had a coronavirus vaccine, or have had a recent quick-turnaround test.
Results will take a few days as the more accurate PCR tests are being used, which need to be sent to a lab. EK is not a new variant in itself, according to the British Medical Journal , but a mutation that occurs within different variants. There are concerns over its impact on the body's immune response and possibly vaccine efficiency, but research is ongoing. Eleven cases of the mutation of the Kent variant were also been found recently in the Bristol area, where similar surge testing has been taking place.
David Regan, public health director at Manchester City Council, said: "We all know that the virus will change over time and it's important that we investigate new strains to understand how they might spread. Over three nights Sky News will host a series of special programmes examining the UK's response to the pandemic. Watch Live. COVID 'Surge testing' in Manchester after mutation of Kent variant detected People should take part even if they do not have symptoms, have had a coronavirus vaccine, or have had a recent rapid test.
