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Coronavirus: Am I eligible for a test? Coronavirus: What tests are available?
(2 days later)
Anyone who has symptoms, or lives in an area where there is a current outbreak, can apply for a test to see if they have coronavirus. The government has bought thousands of rapid Covid-19 test kits in an attempt to control the virus ahead of winter.
Getting tested - and then tracing people's contacts - is considered vital to enable health experts to contain a local outbreak and stopping them from spreading nationally. The two new types of test give results within 90 minutes and will be used in hospitals, care homes and other settings.
Individuals with symptoms should continue to apply for coronavirus tests in the usual way, and can expect results back in one or two days.
Getting tested - and then tracing people's contacts - is considered vital to enable health experts to stop a local outbreak from spreading.
What are the tests?
The main test to diagnose someone with a current case of coronavirus involves a nose and throat swab which has to be sent off to be processed at a lab.
About three-quarters of people receive their results back within 24 hours, although postal kits and tests done at pop-up sites can take longer.
But quicker results are needed in some situations, like when someone is admitted into hospital.
Rapid testing can ensure Covid and non-Covid patients are kept apart, and could find pre-symptomatic cases in care homes before they spread.
Two new tests promising to deliver results in an hour-and-a-half have been bought in their thousands by the UK government.
Both still involve nasal swabs, but they can be processed using portable machines rather than going to a lab.
These tests won't show if you have had Covid-19 in the past. That is done by antibody tests, which use blood samples.
Can I get tested?Can I get tested?
Tests are now available to all adults and most children in the UK with a fever, a new continuous cough or a loss of smell or taste. The lab-based tests are now available to all adults and most children in the UK with a fever, a new continuous cough or a loss of smell or taste.
In England and Wales you can apply for a swab test for yourself, or for anyone in your household, if you or they have symptomsIn England and Wales you can apply for a swab test for yourself, or for anyone in your household, if you or they have symptoms
In Northern Ireland and Scotland anyone over the age of five with symptoms can get tested. In Northern Ireland and Scotland, anyone over the age of five with symptoms can get tested.
The tests are generally the same for children and adults. You can travel to a drive-through testing site, visit a mobile testing unit or get a home testing kit delivered.
How does the test work? The UK also has capacity for about 80,000 antibody tests a day, but these are only offered to health and care staff.
This test to see if you currently have the virus involves taking a swab up the nose and the back of the throat.
This can be done by the person themselves or someone else.
But these tests won't show if you have had Covid-19 in the past.
Antibody tests - which do look for evidence of past exposure - use blood samples.
The UK now has capacity for about 80,000 antibody tests a day, but these are only offered to health and care staff and should only be carried out by a healthcare professional.
They are also used to test random samples of people to estimate the level of exposure across the country.They are also used to test random samples of people to estimate the level of exposure across the country.
Why is testing important?Why is testing important?
Testing is essential if contact-tracing systems now in place across the UK are to work effectively, help stop the spread of the virus and avoid the need for UK-wide lockdowns. Testing is essential if the UK's contact-tracing systems are to work effectively to help stop the virus's spread and avoid nationwide lockdowns.
And in theory it can help people, including NHS workers, know whether they are safe to go to work.And in theory it can help people, including NHS workers, know whether they are safe to go to work.
It's also useful to monitor how much infection there is in the country, which can inform NHS and government decisions. It's also useful to monitor the country's level of infection, which can inform NHS and government decisions.
Is testing different for those in care homes? Can people who don't have symptoms be tested?
Staff and residents in care homes should now be receiving regular coronavirus tests. Staff and residents in care homes should now be receiving regular coronavirus tests whether or not they have symptoms.
People working or living in care homes have been able to be tested even if they don't have symptoms as a one-off since the end of April - but not routinely. Some hospital staff are routinely tested, but there is no national guidance stating they must be.
There have been calls for hospital staff to also be routinely tested regularly, but a letter sent to hospital bosses indicated this is not the current plan for NHS staff. People living in areas where there is a current outbreak can also be tested, even without symptoms.
How reliable are the tests?How reliable are the tests?
Scientists at the University of Bristol believe 20% of positive cases could falsely appear as negative, wrongly telling someone they are not infected. When it comes to the most common type of diagnostic test, scientists at the University of Bristol believe 20% of positive cases could falsely appear as negative, wrongly telling someone they are not infected.
This can be because the swab sample wasn't good enough, the stage of infection someone's at when tested, or problems in the lab.This can be because the swab sample wasn't good enough, the stage of infection someone's at when tested, or problems in the lab.
The Hospital Consultants and Specialists Association (HCSA), which represents hospital doctors, says NHS staff with symptoms who receive a negative result should be tested for a second time as confirmation, because of the possibility of false negatives. Prof Andrew Beggs, at the University of Birmingham, says the rapid test produced by Oxford Nanopore is as accurate as the lab-based tests. But the results are yet to be published.
How long does it take to get a result? Creator of the other rapid test, Prof Chris Toumazou of DNANudge, told the BBC it picked up 98% of positive coronavirus cases. But it's unclear whether this has been independently checked.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson pledged tests would be processed within 24 hours by the end of June, except where there were difficulties with the post.
Data up to 8 July showed that 51% of all tests were turned around in 24 hours, but this rose to 88% for in-person tests carried out by mobile units and regional sites.
Speed is important because delays in diagnosing people and tracing their contacts gives the virus more time to spread.
How many tests are being carried out?How many tests are being carried out?
As of 28 July, 215,000 daily tests were provided and 100,000 were processed. Somewhere in the region of 200,000 tests are being provided each day, but about half of those actually get processed daily.
But this includes kits posted out to homes - some of which may never be returned - as well as those carried out at drive-thru centres. The figure also includes kits posted out to homes - some of which may never be returned - as well as tests carried out as part of a surveillance study by the Office for National Statistics, which aren't used to diagnose people individually.
The total also counts antibody tests and those carried out as part of a surveillance study by the Office for National Statistics, designed to give an idea of how many people have Covid-19, with and without symptoms, in the community. The government has been challenged over its testing capacity and the data it has presented. and has now changed the way it sets out testing data.
During the coronavirus epidemic, the government has been challenged over its testing capacity and the data it has presented.
The government has now changed the way it sets out testing data.
Where do I get tested?
There are several options.
You can travel to a drive-through testing site, visit a mobile testing unit or get a home testing kit delivered.
Testing at an NHS facility, such as a hospital, is available for patients and some NHS workers.
What is contact tracing?
Once someone tests positive for Covid-19, they will be told to self-isolate for 10 days - and their recent close contacts will be traced and told to isolate for 14 days by their nation's test and trace service, even if they don't have symptoms.
Close contacts include household members and anyone who has been within 2m (6ft) of the positive person for more than 15 minutes.
Read more about contact tracing in England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.
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