Matt Hancock is said to be planning an astonishing rise in the number of coronavirus tests carried out, with a target of four million per day to get the economy back on track.
The Health Secretary is said to be preparing what has been dubbed ‘Operation Moon Shot with the aim of increasing daily tests by around twelve-fold by early next year.
Currently the NHS and private testing centers have a capacity of around 326,000, although because of the current level of infection, only around 190,000 are being carried out.
A massive expansion of the testing regime is seen as a key requirement of easing lockdown measures further as the public continue to be wary of a return to workplaces.
But the scale of the plan will raise some eyebrows after Mr Hancock’s struggles throughout the pandemic to dramatically up the testing rate.
His test and trace scheme, run by Tory peer Baroness Harding, has also come in for major criticism.
‘It is at an embryonic stage and it’s going to take a hell of a lot of work. It is nicknamed Operation Moon Shot because that is what a moon shot is like: it seems very hard but it’s important and we want to land it,’ a source told the Telegraph.
The Health Secretary is said to be preparing what has been dubbed ‘Operation Moon Shot with the aim of increasing daily tests by around twelve-fold by early next year.
A massive expansion of the testing regime is seen as a key requirement of easing lockdown measures further as the public continue to be wary of a return to workplaces
Brits back sharing a UK vaccine breakthrough with the world
Britons would rather make a Covid-19 vaccine available everywhere than keep it exclusively for people in the UK, a survey has suggested.
A poll commissioned by anti-poverty organisation The ONE Campaign showed the British public reject ‘vaccine nationalism’, with 82 per cent saying knowledge should be shared with other countries.
Among those polled, 76 per cent think when a Covid-19 vaccine is found it should be made available for all countries at the same time, with 77 per cent saying there should not be a difference between when rich and poor regions get treatment.
Seven in 10 believe health workers and doctors in other countries should get the vaccine first, even if healthy people in the UK have to wait a bit longer.
The polling also showed that people want to fight Covid-19 on a united front, with 73 per cent saying they will only feel safe when every country has eradicated the disease.
Romilly Greenhill, UK director of ONE, said: ‘While this virus thrives anywhere, it threatens people everywhere.
‘British people clearly understand this global pandemic demands a global response. It simply won’t work for each country to go its own way. These findings show the public rejects vaccine nationalism.
‘The public believe that when a Covid-19 vaccine is available, it should be shared equitably.’
:: The data was gathered from interviews with 2,083 UK adults online between August 14-16.
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The paper reported that he was seeking a testing scheme that could identify those without symptoms, who are often missed by current regimes.
Last week he promised a widespread screening programme by Christmas to give the country back its ‘freedom’.
Ministers are confident that faster tests – providing results in as little as ten minutes – can be used to fight any resurgence of Covid-19 this winter.
Entire towns or cities will be tested if they suffer a rise in infections. Staff at workplaces which have been found to be breeding grounds for the virus – such as food factories – could also be subjected to regular screening.
In addition, data-tracking will be stepped up to find flare-ups sooner and prevent city-wide lockdowns. The Office for National Statistics’ Covid-19 infection survey, carried out in England every fortnight, will be increased from 28,000 participants to 150,000 by October, before expanding further to cover 400,000 people.
The two-year project is set to cost £750million – but ministers hope this will represent good value if it leads to more targeted action and fewer large outbreaks.
Unveiling the plans last week, Mr Hancock pledged tests would be carried out on ‘an unprecedented scale’ in ‘one of the biggest expansions of surveillance testing we have ever seen’, starting immediately. He said ministers were ‘working as fast as we can’ to ‘make it the norm that people get tested regularly, allowing us therefore to allow some of the freedoms back’.
Earlier this month, two tests which give results in 90 minutes were rolled out with the hope that they could eventually be deployed nationwide.
DNANudge won a £161million order for 5.8million tests, the equivalent of £27 per swab. The other test is made by Oxford Nanopore.
It came as Boris Johnson pleaded with parents to send their children back to the classroom as he takes charge of the drive to get all schools open next week.
The Prime Minister warned that pupils risk permanent damage to their future life chances if they continue to stay away.
Mr Johnson, who has returned to No10 following his summer break, is in a race against the clock to get schools ready and persuade parents they are safe in time for the start of the new term.
The Government faces a big test to deliver on its promise to get all children full-time back following its shambolic handling of A-level and GCSE results.
Many pupils in England have not been to class since March, when schools were closed except to vulnerable children and those of keyworkers.
In a video posted on Twitter this morning, the Prime Minister said: ‘It’s absolutely vital that pupils get back into school in September.
‘It’s vital for their education, it’s vital for their welfare, it’s vital for their physical, and indeed, their mental wellbeing. So let’s make sure that all kids, all pupils, get back to school at the beginning of September.’
Mr Johnson continued: ‘I think parents are genuinely still a bit worried about their children contracting coronavirus. All I can say is the risks are very, very, very small that they’ll even get it, but then the risk that they’ll suffer from it badly are very, very, very, very small indeed.
‘I think it’s vital that parents understand that schools are safe and that teachers have gone to great lengths to get schools ready. They’ve been doing it all throughout the pandemic, by the way.
‘Lots of schools have been open and looking after kids very, very successfully and will take steps to ensure that groups aren’t mixed up, that we have washing of hands and all the other disciplines you need to prevent spread of the virus.’
Test and Trace online booking flaw sends people on 350-mile round trip for Covid test
The NHS Test and Trace system has faced fresh criticism for a flaw in its online booking system which tries to direct people to test centres more than 100 miles away.
Some people with coronavirus symptoms who try to book a test online are directed to centres which would take them more than three hours to reach by car.
A person from Ilfracombe in Devon who has symptoms of Covid-19 – including a persistent cough, fever or loss of sense of taste or smell – is directed to a test centre in Swansea when they try to book a test online.
This would see them drive past centres in Taunton, Bristol and Cardiff on their six-and-a-half hour round trip, driving 175 miles in each direction.
People in Felixstowe, Suffolk, have been directed to Clacton-on-Sea in Essex, with the Government coronavirus test booking website saying it is just 13.8 miles away.
However, the journey is 40 miles by car, taking almost an hour to get from one place to another.
And people in the region with symptoms of Covid-19 would be forced to drive past their closest test centre in Ipswich on their way to Clacton.
Labour said problems with the booking system should be resolved as a ‘matter of urgency’.
One person from Felixstowe who tried to book a test online told the PA news agency: ‘If I was travelling by boat, then Clacton would be my nearest test centre.
‘I tried to book online but was only given the option of going to Clacton so I called 119. The operator got the same results.
‘They told me that it is not just my region – some people in Newcastle are being directed to test centres in Scotland instead of ones in the city.
‘I have symptoms so am going to get them checked out. But I can imagine that others would be put off by the prospect of two hours in the car – while driving past their actual nearest centre.’
Another example shows that a person in Gosport, Portsmouth, is directed to the test site at Chessington World of Adventures, in Greater London, rather than a Covid-19 drive-through test site in Portsmouth.
Driving from Gosport to the Portsmouth centre takes around 26 minutes for the 11-mile trip, while driving from Gosport to Chessington takes almost an hour-and-a-half for a 67-mile journey.
A person with Covid-19 symptoms in Weston-super-Mare is directed to a testing centre in Cardiff – which takes more than an hour in the car.
However, there is a drive-through testing site at Bristol airport around 25 minutes away.
Some people with a Southampton postcode are being directed to Swindon – around a four-hour round trip.
Problems with the booking system have been highlighted from early on in the crisis but it appears that glitches in the system – which seem to disproportionately affect those on the coast – are yet to be rectified.
Labour said it was ‘hugely disappointing’ that the issues were still occurring and called on the Government to address the issues as a ‘matter of urgency’.
Shadow health minister Justin Madders said: ‘From the first days when testing centres were being rolled out, we have heard stories of people being sent unfeasibly long distances just to get a test, but for this to be still happening at this stage is hugely disappointing.
‘Quick and easy access to testing are cornerstones of an effective test and trace system but once again the Tories seem unable to get the basics right.
‘They must solve these problems as a matter of urgency.’
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