Coronavirus tests now available for everyone over age of five with symptoms, government announces

The UK’s testing programme had been ‘scaled at breathtaking pace into a global champion’, health secretary claims

Rob Merrick,Shaun Lintern
Monday 18 May 2020 16:41 BST
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Everyone aged five and over with symptoms now eligible for Covid-19 test

Everyone over the age of five with coronavirus symptoms across the UK is now eligible for a test, Matt Hancock has announced.

The health secretary said that the testing programme would be expanded from key workers and the over-65s, meaning that those showing signs of Covid-19 will be able to either book a test at a drive-through centre or request a home kit.

But Mr Hancock faced criticism over the test-and-trace system as he refused to set a date for the programme to start – after Downing Street said the next stage of lockdown-easing could begin without it.

There are also fears that the expansion of the testing policy will mean greater demand on key chemicals that laboratories say are already in short supply.

Mr Hancock told the House of Commons: “Every day we are creating more capacity and that means more people can be tested, and the virus has fewer places to hide.

“Today, I can announce to the house that everyone aged five and over with symptoms is now eligible for a test. That applies right across the UK in all four nations from now.

“Anyone with a new continuous cough, a high temperature or the loss or change of sense of taste or smell can book a test by visiting nhs.uk/coronavirus.”

Mr Hancock claimed his benchmark of 100,000 Covid-19 tests had been hit on Sunday, although this includes tens of thousands “in the post” and not yet administered.

From a tiny number of tests at the start of the pandemic in March, the UK’s programme had been “scaled at breathtaking pace into a global champion”, he claimed.

But Allan Wilson, president of the Institute for Biomedical Scientists, which represents NHS laboratory staff, said the announcement on testing expansion was “more of the same” from the government, with what he described as “reactive” announcements and creating new targets rather than concentrating on a full testing strategy.

He added: “It is just reacting again and standing at a podium, making an announcement instead of having a proper sit-down conversation about the priorities. Are we prioritising anyone over the age of five, key workers or on a first-come-first-served basis?”

Mr Wilson said the announcement would increase pressure on the government’s Lighthouse Laboratories, which carry out the coronavirus testing, rather than the NHS. But he added: “We are still competing with them for the same reagents for the test. The supply chain is still very hand-to-mouth.

“The Lighthouse Labs don’t seem to be able to get much above the 100,000 tests a day and it’s not clear where this extra capacity is coming from.”

In recent days there have been problems with testing and data from the commercial labs being made available to local health officials.

Mr Hancock also came under pressure over how long it takes for test results to come back, ducking a question from Jonathan Ashworth, Labour’s shadow health spokesperson, asking for the average wait for returns from the private firms running the drive-through facilities.

Mr Hancock also strongly denied delays of 96 hours – when Rushanara Ali, a Labour backbencher, warned it would put people “at risk” – but was unable to give an alternative figure.

The health secretary said there were now 21,000 contact tracers in England – including “7,500 health care professionals” to help the call handlers, more than the 3,000 originally suggested.

“They will help manually trace the contacts of anyone who’s had a positive test and advise them on whether they need to isolate. They have rigorous training,” he said.

Earlier, Boris Johnson’s spokesperson, when asked when tracing would be fully operational, said only that this would happen “in the coming weeks”.

Jonathan Ashworth demanded a date for it starting – and details for how people in contact with carriers would isolate – but Mr Hancock swerved both questions.

And Mr Hancock again dismissed growing criticism that care home residents were put at risk after patients were moved there from hospitals without being tested, helping to explain the high deaths rate there.

“There has been no large-scale removal of people from hospitals into care homes, as has been implied by some,” he told MPs. “Those movements have been done with care.”

And on care homes he again played down that 38 per cent have suffered Covid-19 cases, saying: “The majority of care homes have not had outbreak at all.”

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