All residents in Hanwell and West Ealing will receive door to door coronavirus tests following the discovery of the new South African variant of COVID-19.

Approximately 5,500 homes across the W7 and W11 postcodes will be delivered home test kits from Wednesday, with the aim of carrying out 10,000 in two weeks.

The decision comes after an unidentified local resident was discovered to have had the new strain, thanks to random test sampling conducted across the country.

The person originally tested positive at the end of last December, despite not having been to South Africa, and has since made a full recovery.

Ealing council leader Julian Bell said he had been informed of the first instance of the variant in the borough on Friday by Public Health England, and that mobile testing had been prepared over the weekend.

He urged residents of Hanwell and West Ealing to stay at home and wait for a testing kit to be delivered.

He said: “We are doing everything we can to protect the community and by having the test you will be able to protect your loved ones and the community better as well.

“We are really committed to trying to suppress this variant and doing everything we can to stop it spreading.”

The latest statistics show that there are still just above 500 cases per 100,000 people in Ealing.

Acknowledging the challenges facing the area, Bell said: “It feels like we are just rolling with the punches really. 

“I have had some difficult conversations with colleagues and there is no getting away from how deadly and how tough this virus is for everyone.”

Like the new UK variant discovered at the end of last year, the South African strain is believed to be more contagious than its original counterpart.

However there is no evidence yet that any of the new strains cause a more severe or deadly infection, or that current vaccines will be ineffective against them.

The new strain has also been detected in three other areas in the capital, in Merton, Tottenham Hale and Haringey.

Mayor of London Sadiq Khan urged people in those areas to continue to follow the rules and check their local council website, and highlighted the concern that many could be carriers without realising it.

He said: “The concern is because many people have the virus but show no symptoms this strain could be spreading very fast.

“The rules are there to keep you safe, and one of the rules is to stay at home unless you have a good reason to leave.”

As of Monday evening, 105 cases of the South African variant had been identified nationally.

At the daily Downing Street coronavirus briefing, Health Secretary Matt Hancock stressed the additional importance of residents in affected postcodes sticking to lockdown rules, but played down any prospect of further targeted measures being introduced.

He said: “Anybody thinking about stretching the rules in those areas must not.

“Of course further measures are always there but we already have in any event a strong set of rules in place.”