It is really good news that following a successful trial in Southampton, new rapid coronavirus tests are being rolled out nationally.
These new tests could be a game changer in fighting coronavirus. It is envisaged that there will be capacity to conduct up to 1 million of these tests every day. This will allow suspected outbreaks to be identified and contained much more quickly. They are much easier to conduct as they work as a simple saliva test and do not need to be sent to a laboratory to be processed allowing for results to be given in just 90 minutes.
Thank you to everyone in our city who took part in the trial who have helped this new test to be prepared for use across the country.
“Game changer”, is that better than “world beating”? I think we already have “world beating” don’t we? For further clarification, I’m no too sure whether or not the number of tests claimed is just as good even if you don’t have a good trace and isolate/treat system.
Also, while I’m at it, didn’t every local health authority in the country already have an efficient test trace and treat system in place and working before Covid-19 to deal with other notifiable diseases? Whatever happened to that? Would it have been a good idea to scale up the existing, proven, system?