A driver is tested for Covid-19 at Chessington Theme Park in London
LONDON, May 2 (NNN-AGENCIES) — The UK deployed more than 122,000 coronavirus tests on the last day of April, passing the government’s target, Health Secretary Matt Hancock said.
Hancock said the target of 100,000 tests per day was an “audacious goal”, but testing was necessary “for getting Britain back on her feet”.
The figure includes home test kits counted when they were dispatched, which may not yet have been processed.
Hancock set the goal on April 2, when the UK was on 10,000 tests a day.
The latest figures show 27,510 people have now died in UK hospitals, care homes and the wider community after testing positive for coronavirus, a daily increase of 739.
At the daily Downing Street briefing, the health secretary suggested the target had had a “galvanising effect” towards increasing testing capacity in the UK.
He added that the testing capacity built would “help every single person in this country”, and stressed that testing would “help us to unlock the lockdown”.
Hancock said the teams who increased the capacity, had “joined in one of the greatest national mobilisations we’ve seen”.
He said 122,347 tests were performed in the 24 hours up to 9am on Friday.
The Department of Health established a testing network, including three “mega labs” to test samples, almost 50 drive-through centres, a home-testing service and mobile testing units, as part of the drive to achieve the government’s target.
Meanwhile, Hancock expanded the list of people eligible for testing throughout the month.
At first, across the UK, the focus was on testing the sickest patients in hospitals, followed by health, care and emergency services staff.
As of last week, other essential workers and their families in England became eligible for testing, if they showed symptoms.
Testing was further expanded earlier this week to millions more people, with symptoms including over-65s, those who have to leave home to work, and people living with someone in these groups. — NNN-AGENCIES