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Next version
Version 76 | Version 77 |
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Coronavirus: What tests are available? | |
(2 days later) | |
The government has bought thousands of rapid Covid-19 test kits in an attempt to control the virus ahead of winter. | |
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? |
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 symptoms | In 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. | |
You can travel to a drive-through testing site, visit a mobile testing unit or get a home testing kit delivered. | |
The UK also has capacity for about 80,000 antibody tests a day, but these are only offered to health and care staff. | |
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 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 the country's level of infection, which can inform NHS and government decisions. | |
Can people who don't have symptoms be tested? | |
Staff and residents in care homes should now be receiving regular coronavirus tests whether or not they have symptoms. | |
Some hospital staff are routinely tested, but there is no national guidance stating they must be. | |
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? |
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. |
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. | |
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. | |
How many tests are being carried out? | How many tests are being carried out? |
Somewhere in the region of 200,000 tests are being provided each day, but about half of those actually get processed daily. | |
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 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. | |
Follow Rachel on Twitter | Follow Rachel on Twitter |
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? |
Please include a contact number if you are willing to speak to a BBC journalist about your experience. | Please include a contact number if you are willing to speak to a BBC journalist about your experience. |
Or use the form below: | Or use the form below: |