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Coronavirus: Government commits £500m for 20-minute Covid test trials

A health worker prepares to administer a nasal swab to a patient at a testing site in Paris: REUTERS
A health worker prepares to administer a nasal swab to a patient at a testing site in Paris: REUTERS

The government is to spend £500m trialling a new 20-minute Coronavirus test that will aim to repeatedly test people for the virus.

The no-swab saliva tests are already underway among students and staff at the University of Southampton and four schools in the area, with testing to be expanded, while the funding will also be used to launch a new community-wide repeat population testing trial in Salford, Greater Manchester.

Numbers of coronavirus cases in Britain are now at a relatively low level, but the UK’s chief medical adviser Professor Chris Whitty has warned containing the virus could become more difficult in winter, particularly with the return of children to school and with more people returning to work.

Meanwhile the BBC has reported there is a “postcode lottery” for testing, with authorities prioritising coronavirus testing in some areas while rationing testing in other places. This has resulted in some people with severe symptoms having to drive more than 100 miles for a swab.

Public health experts have warned any rationing will lead to the start of new spikes being missed.

Health Secretary Matt Hancock said: “Testing is a vital line of defence in combating this pandemic.

“Over the past six months we have built almost from scratch one of the biggest testing systems in the world.

“We need to use every new innovation at our disposal to expand the use of testing, and build the mass testing capability that can help suppress the virus and enable more of the things that make life worth living.

“We are backing innovative new tests that are fast, accurate and easier to use, and will maximise the impact and scale of testing, helping us to get back to a more normal way of life.”

The Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) said saliva-based testing will be used for the pilot in Salford, which will involve the city council and other local partners.

A select number of residents will be invited for a weekly test, with the pilot performing up to 250 tests a day.

The initial focus will be on high footfall areas of Salford, such as retail areas, public services, transport and faith spaces.

Its aim is to identify positive coronavirus cases early, including for those with no or minor symptoms, so people can self-isolate.

Results will inform how regular repeat community testing could be scaled up across the country.

In Southampton, the second phase of a no-swab saliva test pilot is due to begin this week.

It will see a weekly testing model trialled with more than 2,100 pupils and staff across four schools.

The work is led by a partnership of the University of Southampton, Southampton City Council and the NHS.

Meanwhile in Hampshire, the pilot of a rapid 20-minute coronavirus test will be expanded “to further explore the applications of mobile testing in different settings”, the DHSC said.

Funding will also be used to extend capacity for existing polymerase chain reaction (PCR) testing currently being used in the UK.

Baroness Dido Harding, interim executive chairwoman of the National Institute for Health Protection, the body replacing Public Health England, said: “New testing technologies and methods are vital to keep the system evolving and improving, especially as we assess how routine testing could help pick up cases of the virus earlier.

“We will continue to scale up our testing capacity by expanding our network of testing sites and investing in new technologies to reach even more people through NHS Test and Trace.”

Additional reporting by PA

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