Tens of thousands of people will be tested in a door-to-door “two-week sprint” to halt the spread of the South African coronavirus variant as cases were found across England. Squads of health officials, firefighters and volunteers have been established to deliver and collect PCR test kits door-to-door and mobile testing units will be sent to each area. Wastewater could also be tested to determined the prevalence of the strain. The new South Africa variant, which is more transmissible than the original virus, appears to show a slightly “diminished” response to vaccines, and may eventually require a booster shot, Public Health England (PHE) said. The health secretary, Matt Hancock, said that cases indicating community transmission were discovered in eight areas from Surrey in the south of England to Sefton in Lancashire. Labour said the “deeply worrying” news bolstered the argument for closing UK borders and enforcing hotel quarantine for all new arrivals. Hancock ordered testing of around 80,000 residents in postcode areas where cases were found which did not originate from travel. He said the goal was to “stop the spread altogether of these new variants” and “bring this virus to heel”. “If you live in one of these postcodes where we are sending in enhanced testing then it is imperative that you stay at home and you get a test even if you don’t have symptoms,” Hancock told a Downing Street press conference. “This is so important so that we can break the chains of transmission of this new variant.” He said it was “a stark reminder that the fight against this virus isn’t over yet”. There is no firm research on the efficacy of the AstraZeneca vaccine against the variant, though laboratory research is under way, said Dr Susan Hopkins, PHE’s Covid strategic response director. A briefing document on the response seen by the Guardian described the plan as “a two-week sprint” and said Hancock “has ordered an attempt at eradication of the new variant if at all possible”. The briefing document on the “surge-testing” plan states: “There is now no evidence that this variant causes more severe illness, or that the regulated vaccine would not protect against it. Virus variation and mutation occurs naturally. The more we suppress new variants the more we will avoid variants which cause problems for treatment or vaccination.” But one public health official questioned the approach of using postcode areas “because it assumes infected people don’t have contact with others outside the postcode”. They described the approach as “experimental” but said it could help develop a template for responding to future mutations of the virus. Ruth Hutchinson, director of public health for Surrey, said door-to-door testing was “a precautionary measure – the more cases of the variant we find, the better chance we have at stopping it from spreading further”. “It’s really important to say that there is now no evidence that this variant causes more severe illness, so you don’t need to worry,” she said. Door-to-door testing is set to start in Hertfordshire on Thursday. It has previously been used by authorities in high-infection areas such as the London borough of Redbridge, Leicester and Oldham. Dr Alison Barnett, a regional director at PHE South East, said: “The most important thing is that people continue to follow the guidance that is in place: limit your number of contacts, wash your hands regularly and thoroughly, keep your distance and cover your face. If you test positive by any method, you must isolate to stop the spread of the virus.”