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Next version
Version 78 | Version 79 |
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Coronavirus: What tests are available? | Coronavirus: What tests are available? |
(14 days later) | |
Increased coronavirus testing in areas of the UK with higher numbers of cases has led to shortages elsewhere. | |
But public health experts say this strategy could mean that big rises in numbers in other places are missed. | |
Testing people and then tracing the contacts of those who are infected - is considered vital to stop coronavirus from spreading. | |
What are the targets for testing? | |
The government said it planned to increase testing capacity to 500,000 a day by the end of October. | |
Currently capacity is reported as being 350,000 a day, but in reality only about 180,000 daily tests are routinely carried out. | |
Health Secretary Matt Hancock has also pledged to bring in mass coronavirus testing by the end of the year, even among people with no symptoms. | |
Mr Hancock said the "ramping up" of testing would be helped by new technology, including rapid Covid-19 test kits which provide results in 90 minutes. | Mr Hancock said the "ramping up" of testing would be helped by new technology, including rapid Covid-19 test kits which provide results in 90 minutes. |
The Office for National Statistics is also expanding its monitoring programme, where a random sample of people in private households are regularly swabbed to indicate how much infection there is in the wider population. | |
What are the tests? | What are the tests? |
The main test involves a nose and throat swab which has to be sent off to be processed at a lab. | |
Two new tests promising to deliver results in an hour-and-a-half have been bought in their thousands by the UK government. | Two new tests promising to deliver results in an hour-and-a-half have been bought in their thousands by the UK government. |
These tests are currently planned to be used in settings like hospitals and care homes. | These tests are currently planned to be used in settings like hospitals and care homes. |
Both still involve nasal swabs, but they can be processed using portable machines rather than needing to be sent to a lab. | Both still involve nasal swabs, but they can be processed using portable machines rather than needing to be sent to a lab. |
These tests won't show if you have had Covid-19 in the past. That requires antibody tests, which use blood samples. | These tests won't show if you have had Covid-19 in the past. That requires antibody tests, which use blood samples. |
Can I get tested? | Can I get tested? |
The lab-based tests are now available to anyone 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 anyone in the UK with a fever, a new continuous cough or a loss of smell or taste. |
You can travel to a drive-through testing site, where you are tested through your car window, visit a mobile testing unit or have a home testing kit delivered. | |
Antibody tests are are only offered to health and care staff, in schools, or in the tests estimating the level of exposure across the country. | |
Can people who don't have symptoms be tested? | Can people who don't have symptoms be tested? |
At the moment, generally only individuals with symptoms are told to apply for coronavirus tests, with results expected in one or two days. | |
But officials have become increasingly concerned about asymptomatic transmission - where people who don't know they have the virus spread it on to others. | |
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 that they must be. | Some hospital staff are routinely tested, but there is no national guidance stating that they must be. |
People living in areas where there is a current outbreak can also be tested, even without symptoms. | People living in areas where there is a current outbreak can also be tested, even without symptoms. |
But the government has said it wants to move towards mass testing where it becomes the "norm" for people to be tested regularly for coronavirus regardless of 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. | 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, there were problems in the lab, or the stage of infection the patient was at when tested. | |
How many tests are being carried out? | How many tests are being carried out? |
Between 150,000 and just under 200,000 tests are being processed each day, but that includes antibody tests and those used for the purposes of estimating prevalence in the population, rather than diagnosing 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. | |
Until recently, the figure also includes kits posted out to homes - some of which may never be returned. | Until recently, the figure also includes kits posted out to homes - some of which may never be returned. |
It was also double counting home tests when they were posted out and when they were processed in the lab. | It was also double counting home tests when they were posted out and when they were processed in the lab. |
On 12 August it removed 1.3m tests from its total number of tests "made available" because of this double counting. | On 12 August it removed 1.3m tests from its total number of tests "made available" because of this double counting. |
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: |