Testing kits sent to 100,000 in the post

NHS leaders say daily target is a red herring as ministers come under fire for moving goalposts

One hundred thousand people will be randomly selected to receive Covid-19 tests in the post, the Government announced last night. The antigen swab kits, which detect if someone currently has the virus, will hopefully help officials develop an antibody test to tell if someone has recovered from it. The announcement came as the Health Secretary’s 100,000-a-day testing target was described by NHS leaders as a “red herring” to distract from strategic shortcomings.

ONE HUNDRED THOUSAND people will be randomly selected to receive coronavirus tests in the post, the Government announced last night.

On the eve of Matt Hancock’s final day to hit his target of administering 100,000 daily coronavirus tests, the Department of Health announced a new strategy which will see members of the public asked to provide nose and throat swabs to detect antigens that indicate if they are currently infected.

It is hoped the results will help officials develop an antibody testing kit to tell if someone has recovered from Covid-19. If an antibody test can be validated, following tests on volunteers from the Imperial Healthcare NHS Trust and the public, it will be rolled out to another 100,000 people later in the year, which scientists will use to track the spread of the disease.

It came as the Health Secretary’s testing target was described by NHS leaders as a “red herring” to distract from strategic shortcomings.

A report by NHS Providers, which represents trusts in England, described the target as “arbitrary” and said it could be “testing for testing’s sake”.

It warned it risked preventing the development of a “proper, next-stage testing strategy”, and added: “A vast amount still remains to be done to reach a testing regime that can be described as fit for purpose.”

Mr Hancock committed to the 100,000 daily target after the Government faced criticism for being too slow on testing.

The NHS Providers report said the system “started from a poor position” during the start of the health crisis and that its members feel on the end of “a series of frequent tactical announcements”. The report added: “The recent public focus on whether 100,000 tests will be performed on April 30 is a red herring.”

The Government has been racing against the clock to boost testing numbers, expanding the eligibility criteria of who can apply for a test over the past few days – including for those over 65 if they have symptoms.

Dominic Raab said 52,429 tests were carried out on Tuesday and that there is the capacity for 73,000 daily tests. The Government will need to almost double the number of tests carried out a day to meet its target.

Yesterday, ministers appeared to move the goalposts over its 100,000-aday testing target, which it promised to meet today. George Eustice, the Environment Secretary, suggested that the target applied to capacity, not tests actually carried out. Mr Eustice told Today on BBC Radio 4 there was “always a slight lag” between capacity and tests being carried out.

He later told BBC Breakfast: “The first thing is to build the capacity and the second thing is to make sure that everybody knows they can get access to that test and we’re now doing both of those things.”

Prof John Newton, the Government’s

‘A vast amount still remains to be done to reach a testing regime that can be described as fit for purpose’

testing tsar, said he is “very confident” of hitting the target on tests being carried out, not just capacity.

Liz Kendall, the shadow health and social care minister, said this week: “The promise was 100,000 actual tests done a day – not the capacity for tests, or people being referred to tests. It was the actual number of tests done.”

On Monday, the Prime Minister’s spokesman said it would be “difficult” to know by the end of this week if today’s target had been met in time and it could take until next week to get the accurate data.

Meanwhile, 17 mobile testing units have been set up, the Government said, including in Teesside, Blackpool, Salisbury, Grantham and Ramsgate.

Each one is able to conduct hundreds of tests each day. Specially trained Armed Forces personnel will collect swabs before sending them to labs for processing, with results sent back in 48 hours, a government source said.

There is a target for 96 such units to be in place in May. The units would travel to locations including care homes, police stations and prisons.