THE UK Government will “come down hard” on the South Africa variant of the coronavirus after 105 cases were detected in the UK, Matt Hancock has insisted.

The Health Secretary for England told a Downing St press conference how there was now enhanced “door-to-door” tracing and testing in newly identified areas south of the border as part of an urgent effort to swab 80,000 people to halt the spread of the South African strain.

Eleven cases of the variant have been identified over the last five or six days in people who have no links to travel, suggesting it may be spreading in communities.

Experts from Public Health England, who have been sequencing around 5% to 10% of all positive cases looking for variants, are now hoping to break any chains of transmission. All but two areas involved single cases of the variant.

Mobile testing units and some home testing kits are being sent into eight postcode areas: Hanwell in west London; Tottenham in north London; Mitcham in south London; Walsall in the West Midlands; Broxbourne in Hertfordshire; Maidstone in Kent; Woking in Surrey and Southport on Merseyside.

The South African variant is thought to be as transmissible as the variant that was first identified in Kent but there is no evidence yet that it causes more severe disease.

Mr Hancock said it was “imperative” people in the affected areas took “extra special measures,” heeding in particular the stay-at-home message and getting a test even if they had no symptoms.

“We have got to bring this virus to heel…It’s not time to let this slip,” he declared.

Leading epidemiologist Dr Susan Hopkins of Public Health England said it was likely the South Africa variant had come from an asymptomatic person who had entered the UK from abroad.

She stressed three vaccines had shown to be effective against the new variant and the expectation was that other vaccines would have a similar level of effectiveness against it, “particularly in reducing hospitalisation and death”.

Dr Hopkins noted how further testing was taking place involving the South African variant, so that predictions could be made with “greater robustness.”

She added: “What we do know is that it has more mutations…That is causing perhaps to have diminished effectiveness to a vaccine but[it is] still very good. We want to prevent viruses with mutations acquiring more mutations, which they will do over time.”

Earlier, Mr Hancock announced that 9.2 million people across the UK had now been vaccinated with more than 900,000 people receiving their jags over the weekend.

He explained that almost nine in 10 of all those aged over 80 had been vaccinated while over half of those in their 70s had received a jag. As planned, every person in a care home in England had now been offered a vaccine.

The Secretary of State said that he wanted to “put to bed” the “myth” that different parts of the UK were not getting their “fair share” of vaccines but acknowledged there could be a “bumpy supply schedule”.

He told the press conference: “We’re making sure that the vaccine goes to all parts of…the whole country, including all of the devolved areas and making sure that happens on a fair basis, according to need.”

Mr Hancock insisted the vaccine programme showed “how important it is for the whole UK to work together as one”.

Official figures showed a further 406 people had died within 28 days of testing positive for Covid-19 as of Monday, bringing the UK total to 106,564.

There had been a further 18,607 lab-confirmed cases of coronavirus in the UK, the lowest daily total of new cases since December 15.

Meanwhile, Boris Johnson’ spokesman, asked if the Prime Minister was concerned about the vaccine rollout in Scotland lagging behind the rest of the UK, said: “We have secured and purchased vaccines on behalf of the UK and we are ensuring every area and every devolved administration receives a fair and proportionate distribution of them.”

He told a daily media briefing: “We continue to provide support and you’ll be aware of the extra support the military has played in allowing Scotland to administer their vaccines and will continue to work together as we roll out the vaccination programme further.”

Allegra Stratton, Mr Johnson's Press Secretary, noted how the PM was in Scotland last week visiting a mass vaccination site and added: “The vaccination programme displays the power of the Union in action because it’s[as] the four nations acting together that we have been able to produce and distribute the vaccine to all four corners of the country.”

Earlier, Mr Johnson said while there were signs the lockdown measures were working it was too early to “take your foot off the throat of the beast” by easing restrictions.

And he suggested England might not return to a regional system of Covid-19 controls as he was keeping an “open mind” about a blanket approach across the nation when the time comes to ease the lockdown.