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Coronavirus: What tests are being done in the UK? Coronavirus: What tests are being done in the UK?
(6 days later)
Everyone aged five and over in the UK with coronavirus symptoms can now be tested for the disease, Heath Secretary Matt Hancock has announced. Testing will be an essential part of the government's contact-tracing system for controlling the epidemic as lockdown eases.
So what exactly is the government's testing strategy? Anyone with symptoms will need to access a test quickly so that, if they are found to have coronavirus, people they have been in contact with can be tracked down and told to self-isolate.
Can I get tested for coronavirus? Who gets tested?
Making tests available to anyone over five with symptoms is a major expansion of the UK's testing programme. Anyone with symptoms in the UK can now be tested. People working or living in care homes can be tested even if they don't have symptoms.
When testing started, it was only for the sickest patients in hospitals, but eligibility gradually grew. If you think you need a coronavirus test you can arrange to visit a regional test site. Alternatively, you can ask for a home test kit.
If you think you need a coronavirus test you can arrange to visit a regional test site. Alternatively, you can ask for a home test kit - although these have been in short supply. What is the test?
The test is performed by a taking a swab up the nose or from the back of the throat. The tests we're talking about are to find out if you currently have the virus.
At first the British Medical Association said accessing centres was a major problem, with some people having to drive hundreds of miles to their nearest site. They are performed by a taking a swab up the nose or from the back of the throat.
New testing centres have since been opened, although people must still have access to a car and someone to drive them - or be well enough to drive themselves. The government is buying another type of test. Antibody tests use a blood sample to find out if you've had the virus in the past.
The army was also enlisted to provide pop-up testing facilities in sparsely-populated areas far away from any of the main sites. It will first be made available to health and social care staff, patients and care home residents.
However, concerns have been raised about long waits for some test results. Targets
Mr Hancock also announced that the government was trialling a new much quicker swab test which doesn't need to be sent to a lab, and gives results in 20 minutes.
The new swab tests will be trialled in Hampshire in some A&E departments, GP testing hubs and care homes. The trial will run for six weeks and test up to 4,000 people.
If successful, he said the new test will be rolled out on a larger scale "as soon as we can".
What was the 100,000 target?
The government set a target of 100,000 coronavirus tests per day across the UK by the end of April, and managed to log 122,347 tests on 30 April.The government set a target of 100,000 coronavirus tests per day across the UK by the end of April, and managed to log 122,347 tests on 30 April.
But it was criticised for including in this figure about 40,000 testing kits which are counted when they are sent out. But it was criticised for including in this figure about 40,000 testing kits which had been sent out but not yet completed or processed.
The target was also met on 1 May. It was missed for eight consecutive days after that before being met again on 10 May. The number of tests performed is not the same as the number of people tested - on 22 May there were 140,497 tests but 80,297 people tested.
On 20 May, 128,340 tests were provided. Among the reasons for the gap is that some people have to be retested because their test was void, or to check whether someone who had previously tested positive was now negative or to double check a negative if someone still appeared to be infected.
Now the government is working towards a fresh target to get to 200,000 tests a day by the end of May, but this figure seems to refer to testing "capacity", not the actual number of tests carried out. Concerns have been raised about long waits for some test results.
What is antibody testing? While there will now be fewer people with symptoms in the general population, as the epidemic recedes, it's been suggested that the 800,000 people who work for the NHS should be tested about once a week.
The swab test only tells you if you currently have Covid-19. Some have suggested health and care staff should be tested, possible twice a week, since the test is most effective around the first three days of having symptoms.
However, health officials in England have approved a test that will show if someone has had coronavirus in the past. Speed is also of the essence when it comes to the "test and trace" system. People with symptoms need a quick test so the people they have been in contact with can be tracked down and told to isolate. Delays will give more time for the virus to spread.
The new test - from Swiss pharmaceutical firm Roche - looks for antibodies in the blood to see if a person has had the virus and might now have some form of immunity. Anyone with symptoms should immediately isolate, but until they have a positive test, others they already infected who might be asymptomatic might continue spreading the infection.
On 21 May, Mr Hancock said 10 million tests had been ordered through Roche and pharmaceutical company Abbott.
He said it would be available to health and social care staff, patients and care home residents from next week.
There is an antibody test already in use at government research facility Porton Down, to make early estimates about what percentage of the population might have had the virus. But it is not accurate enough to give individuals information about their infection status.
There are also questions over how long immunity lasts. There is no evidence people who have recovered from Covid-19 and have antibodies are protected from being infected again, the World Health Organization (WHO) says.
Why is testing important?Why is testing important?
People are tested to diagnose them individually, but it can also be used to understand how far the virus has spread in the population. A "test and trace" system is being launched in England on 28 May meaning anyone with a positive coronavirus test will be contacted to report their recent encounters with people, and places they have visited.
Tests help people, including NHS workers, know whether they are safe to go to work. Wide testing can also let the health service plan for extra demand, and inform government decisions around social distancing and lockdowns. Those who have been in "close contact" with someone who tests positive will have to isolate for 14 days, even if they have no symptoms.
A close contact will include household members and anyone who has been within 2 metres of someone for more than 15 minutes.
A similar scheme is launching in Scotland called Test and Protect.
Tests can also help people, including NHS workers, know whether they are safe to go to work, let the health service plan for extra demand, and inform government decisions around social distancing and lockdowns.
For this reason, an initial 20,000 households in England will be tested every month for a year - for active coronavirus infections and for antibodies indicating a past infection.For this reason, an initial 20,000 households in England will be tested every month for a year - for active coronavirus infections and for antibodies indicating a past infection.
Has the UK been too slow in testing for coronavirus?Has the UK been too slow in testing for coronavirus?
The UK significantly increased its testing capacity throughout April, but lagged behind many other nations. Germany, for example, was regularly averaging 100,000 tests a day, by the start of last month. The UK significantly increased its testing capacity throughout April, but lagged behind many other nations. Germany, for example, was regularly averaging 100,000 tests a day by the start of April.
The UK did not start with the resources to do mass testing, unlike some other countries.The UK did not start with the resources to do mass testing, unlike some other countries.
But it also took several weeks to expand from an initial eight public health laboratories to a wider network of private and university labs.But it also took several weeks to expand from an initial eight public health laboratories to a wider network of private and university labs.
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What do I need to know about the coronavirus?What do I need to know about the coronavirus?
Have you been tested? Or are you waiting for a test?Have you been tested? Or are you waiting for a test?
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