Testing and tracing is essential in preventing the spread of the coronavirus, especially ahead of winter. I am pleased to see that the government is rolling out two new rapid results coronavirus tests which will be able to detect COVID-19 and other winter viruses in just 90 minutes.
Initially, these ground-breaking tests will be rolled out in hospitals, care homes and laboratories in South Derbyshire and across the UK. They will be a crucial tool in the fight to control the virus because the quicker we can detect it the better chance we have in stopping it spreading. In turn this will protect the NHS and save lives but just as important, it will allow all of us to get on with our lives so much more quickly.
The new tests will also be able to detect other respiratory syncytial and winter viruses such as the flu and differentiate between them and Covid19. An additional benefit is the tests do not require a trained health professional to operate them and can be done in a non-clinical setting which makes them more accessible and will also save money.
A new test that uses DNA to detect the virus will be rolled out across NHS hospitals from September, with 5,000 DNA machines, supplied by DnaNudge, to provide 5.8 million tests in the coming months.
Separately, 450,000 90-minute LamPORE swab tests will also be available across adult care settings and laboratories from next week, supplied by Oxford Nanopore.
The Government continue to show their commitment to detecting and curing the virus. I hope this increase in testing and the ability to get results fast will have a positive impact in stopping the spread of this virus, help save lives and mitigate the impact of the virus on not just people’s health but the economy and communities.
