PM: COVID TESTS TWICE A WEEK TO SET US FREE
Home kits for all adults from Friday will halt the virus ‘in its tracks’
EVERY adult in England is to be offered two NHS Covid tests a week to help stamp out the deadly virus.
Boris Johnson has announced people will be able to order rapid “lateral flow” tests delivered to their homes or collect them from pharmacies from Friday.
This applies even if they do not have coronavirus symptoms. They
can also be tested in many workplaces or at community sites.
The Prime Minister said the move will step up his Government’s test and trace programme that is designed – along with the highspeed vaccine rollout – to stop coronavirus in its tracks.
He added: “Massive efforts have been made by the British public to stop the spread of the virus.
“As we continue to make good progress on our vaccine programme, and with our roadmap to cautiously easing restrictions under way, regular rapid testing is even more important to make sure those efforts are not wasted.
“That’s why we’re now rolling out free rapid tests to everyone across England – helping us to stop outbreaks in their tracks, so we can get back to seeing the people we love and doing the things we enjoy.”
Health officials say the tests – funded by the NHS and therefore free at the point of delivery – will help the Government collect data about Covid outbreaks to track the future spread of the disease.
A Government advertising blitz will be launched on Friday to raise awareness of the availability of the tests. And updates will be sent via the NHS Covid-19 mobile phone and tablet computer app.
The app has been downloaded by around 22 million Britons.
The latest test and trace move is designed to ensure the reopening of businesses, set out in Mr Johnson’s roadmap out of lockdown, goes ahead on schedule.
Rapid testing has so far been available to those most at risk and people who need to leave home for work. Ministers will now encourage everyone to take the tests, although they will not be compulsory.
The decision follows concerns that around one in three people infected with Covid do not experience any symptoms and may be spreading the virus unwittingly.
Anyone testing positive will be expected to isolate themselves at home immediately, to minimise the risk of spreading the bug.
More than 120,000 cases of infection have been identified through lateral-flow tests since the high-speed technology was introduced.
Ministers hope the increased testing will help break the chains of Covid transmission and save lives.
It is also expected to help identify and track the emergence of new Covid variants that could beat the protection offered by the current coronavirus vaccines.
Health Secretary Matt Hancock said: “As we reopen society and resume parts of life we have all dearly missed, regular rapid testing is going to be fundamental in helping us quickly spot positive cases and squash any outbreaks.
“The vaccine programme has been a shot in the arm for the whole country, but reclaiming our lost freedoms and getting back to normal hinges on us all getting tested regularly.
“The British public have shown over the last year that they quickly adapt and always do what it is right in the interest of public health, and I know they will do their bit by getting tested regularly in the months ahead.” More than 100,000 businesses in England have registered their interest to provide rapid tests to their employees. Officials say the twiceweekly tests will be offered through:
●●A home ordering service, which allows people to order lateral flow tests online to be sent to their home.
●●Workplace testing, either onsite or at home.
●●Community testing, offered by local authorities.
●●Collection at “PCR” sites that already test for Covid.
●●Testing on-site at schools and colleges.
A new Pharmacy Collect service is also being launched to provide an additional route to regular testing. People aged 18 and over without symptoms will be able to visit a participating local pharmacy and collect a box of seven rapid tests.
Households will be able to get information on Covid testing at the web page NHS.UK/get-tested.
If testing at home, individuals will need to register their results online or by calling 119, then selfisolate if positive and order a confirmatory PCR test.
Officials say anyone with symptoms of Covid-19 should book a test online or by calling 119.
Dr Susan Hopkins, Covid-19 strategic response director at Public Health England and Chief Medical Adviser to NHS Test and Trace, said: “I encourage everyone to take up the offer of these free rapid tests – they are quick and easy to carry out in your own home.”
Transmit
The Department for Health says analysis from NHS Test and Trace shows that for every 1,000 lateral flow tests carried out, there is less than one false positive result. They are very effective in finding people who don’t have symptoms but are likely to transmit the disease.
Labour’s Shadow Health Secretary Jonathan Ashworth said: “We’ve long called for mass testing for those with and without symptoms as a key element in tackling the spread of the virus.
“But to break transmission chains and suppress infections, testing must go hand-in-hand with community public health-led contact tracing to find cases and, must be backed up by decent financial support so sick people can isolate.
“Lack of adequate sick pay remains a dangerous hole in our defences against this horrific virus.”
AFTER a dreadful winter, this Easter weekend brings a message of hope. Spring has arrived, the vaccination programme has reached 31.5 million Britons, and while overseas holidays are still in abeyance, the mood has definitely lifted.
And there’s further welcome news. Yesterday, Boris Johnson announced that every adult in England is to be offered two Covid tests a week – either delivered to their homes or their local pharmacy – further increasing our protection from this perilous, shape-shifting virus. Previously, testing had been more restricted and normally involved leaving the home.
This will hasten the Government’s Test and Trace programme and its app – due to be updated on Thursday – and assist our emergence from the pandemic, as well as provide data against new Covid outbreaks.
This programme will help businesses reopen, and although having tests is not compulsory, it will help stop those infected from spreading the virus inadvertently.
Yes, the Test and Trace scheme that launched last summer did not cover itself in glory. But this time, the jab and test regime is sure to have a multiplier effect, hastening the end of lockdown and helping us all return to normality. We should all participate in this national effort.