No surge testing for India variants despite Hancock pledge

Following health secretary's statement last month, Public Health England confirms it is carrying out targeted testing' instead

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Surge testing is not being carried out in England for coronavirus variants first detected in India, despite the government claiming it would be, the Guardian has learned.

The coronavirus variant known as B.1.617 is a variant under investigation" in the UK, together with its close relatives B.1.617.2 and B.1.617.3. All three are worrying scientists because they contain either one or two mutations in their spike protein that may help them evade the body's immune responses and be more transmissible.