PLANS have been drawn up to introduce door to door testing in Southend if the new South African variant of Covid is discovered in the town.

Public health bosses are “planning for the worst” with a blueprint now in place in case of a positive case of the new variant of the virus the town.

Bosses confirmed there has yet to be reported case of the South African variant in Southend.

It was revealed to the Echo the council is making “contingency plans” for teams to go door to door.

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​Ian Gilbert, the leader of Southend Council, said he is “watching closely” at how the door to door testing is being rolled out in Surrey.

He said: “I want it to be led by council teams, not in central Government. We know the area better.

“We’re looking at the areas which have had positive cases of the new strain.

“You have to plan for the worst case scenario.”

Eleven areas of the country have seen cases of the new variant, with these postcodes being “surged with tests”, according to Health Secretary Matt Hancock.

Homeowners have now been warned not to open their doors to scammers pretending to be from the public health team. 

Mr Gilbert added: “This was happening in the first wave, with people going to homes offering tests. Door to door testing is not yet happening in Southend, so nobody will be coming to your home with tests.”

Southend Council has urged everyone to get tested for the virus, even if they haven’t got symptoms.

The testing sites available in the town are at Short Street, Southend Airport, Elm Road, University Square, St Aidan’s Church, and Shoebury Youth Centre.

Trevor Harp, councillor in charge of health and social care, added: “We have plenty of capacity, so please get tested. The only way to find out if we have the virus is by testing people.”