With the new South African variant detected in Wooburn Green people in Bucks are being urged to take Covid-19 tests this week.

Council officials will be delivering home test kits to all households in Wooburn Green and parts of Flackwell Heath from Thursday, February 25 until Tuesday March 2.

FOLLOW LIVE: The latest updates as surge testing starts today

These tests can be taken at home and will then be collected later that day by a council volunteer.

For anyone unsure on whether they live in a surge test area, Buckinghamshire Council has a postcode checker with all the information about available support in Bucks. 

Bucks Free Press:

A council spokesman said: “Positive tests will be sequenced to identify any further spread of the new variant first discovered in South Africa, enabling a better understanding of the variant and identifying if there are any more cases of this variant of the virus in the area.

“If someone tests positive, they must self-isolate immediately and pass on details of their contacts to NHS Test and Trace.

“There is currently no evidence to suggest that this variant causes more serious illness than other variants.”