REUTERS

Britain will work with the World Health Organization (WHO) to develop a "pandemic radar" system to identify new coronavirus variants quickly and track emerging diseases globally to ensure the world is never "caught unawares again".

Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced the plan for a new "Global Pandemic Radar" ahead of a G20 Global Health summit on Friday in Rome, where he will speak.

Johnson's office said it would involve a network of surveillance hubs that could watch out for outbreaks and share data on variants and vaccine resistance.

He is using Britain's presidency of the G7 to highlight the need to be prepared for future pandemics, launching an expert group to examine how the development of vaccines against future diseases can be expedited. read more

"Tackling COVID-19 globally and ensuring we are better prepared for future health threats is an absolute priority for the UK’s G7 presidency," Johnson said.

"The world must never be caught unawares again by a virus spreading among us unchecked. We need to build a system of disease surveillance fit for the 21st century, with real-time data sharing and rapid genomic sequencing and response."

Britain will host a G7 health ministers summit on June 3-4, ahead of an in-person leaders summit in south-west England the following week.