Hospital staff to be routinely tested for Covid- 19

HOSPITAL STAFF in Leeds will soon be routinely tested for coronavirus regardless of whether they have symptoms or not.

From next week, the Prime Minister said NHS staff working in areas where coronavirus rates are rising – including parts of Yorkshire, the North West, and the North East – would be tested repeatedly.

Leeds was in the list of areas confirmed by Downing Street, joining Manchester, Liverpool, Newcastle, Basingstoke, and Southampton.

While swab tests that do not need to be sent away to laboratories, where results are delivered within an hour, will be rolled out in adult social care, schools, and universities in the hardest hit areas.

Areas in Tier 3 restrictions will be prioritised for the rapid tests, but the PM said tests would also be made available for local directors of public health to distribute.

However Mr Johnson warned it would take time to develop the system to work safely.

He told a Downing Street news conference: “No country in the world is regularly testing millions of people.

“So we need to take the time to establish how to do this effectively and safely, and to build the logistics and distribution operation necessary for a large- scale operation across the country.

“We won’t be able to use testing to get business back to normal quickly. In time, we want to use tests to open, and keep open, more parts of the economy that have sadly been closed.

“But it is crucial that we make sure such systems work safely and, I must level with you, that it will take time to get this right before many organisations can buy and operate these tests themselves.”

He added that some of the saliva tests could deliver results in just 15 minutes, and these would be trialled across the country.