Britain must urgently stamp out coronavirus mutations, says health secretary Hancock

He added that actions already taken would help to contain any outbreak, such as the introduction of enhanced contact tracing.

It is imperative that Britain stamps out any mutations of the novel coronavirus that have been detected in recent days and actions already taken to step up testing and contract tracing will help, Health Secretary Matt Hancock said on Wednesday.

Britain's Health Secretary Matt Hancock wearing a face mask leaves Downing Street in London, Britain. (Reuters)

"It is absolutely critical that where we find them, we absolutely stamp on it," he told Sky News, after Britain detected cases of the South African variant that were not linked to international travel.

He added that actions already taken would help to contain any outbreak, such as the introduction of enhanced contact tracing, mass community testing and clear instructions for people in those areas where cases are detected to stay at home.