Testing for COVID-19
The most recent information I have been given about testing for COVID-19 is as follows.
The Government is fully aware of the importance of testing as many people as possible. They are rapidly increasing the number of tests that are carried out throughout the country, with the aim of testing as many as 25,000 people every day in a few weeks’ time.
The priority is to make sure that those tests are being used on the people who need them the most. It goes without saying that as we expand our testing capability, the number of people who can have those tests will also expand – but the priority must remain all patients in critical care or being admitted to hospitals for pneumonia, acute respiratory distress syndrome or flu - like illness.
Public Health England is currently testing a new antibody test that may be able to show if a person has had Covid - 19.
TESTING NHS STAFF:
The highest priority cases will be tested first, this includes those most at risk of severe illness and it also includes NHS staff.
Staff testing is now being rolled out across the NHS from next week, starting with critical care nurses and expanding to other medical professionals, including people in the social care sector.
TEST FOR INDIVIDUALS:
The overriding aim is to save lives, protect the most vulnerable and relieve pressure on the NHS. It is not practical to test everyone in the country. Because, as the medical experts have advised, the majority of people with the virus will have only mild symptoms but others will be at much greater risk, it is therefore better to prioritise those most at risk, such as patients in critical care, when deciding who to test.
(Obviously those most at risk also includes front-line medical staff, and the criteria for testing also reflect the importance of testing those in jobs which bring them into contact with a lot of people so that they do not spread the disease.)
UPDATE 29TH MARCH
Health secretary Matt Hancock tweeted this morning that the UK has now hit the target to test 10,000 people per day, adding that we are now on track to test 25,000 a day.
The Government is fully aware of the importance of testing as many people as possible. They are rapidly increasing the number of tests that are carried out throughout the country, with the aim of testing as many as 25,000 people every day in a few weeks’ time.
The priority is to make sure that those tests are being used on the people who need them the most. It goes without saying that as we expand our testing capability, the number of people who can have those tests will also expand – but the priority must remain all patients in critical care or being admitted to hospitals for pneumonia, acute respiratory distress syndrome or flu - like illness.
Public Health England is currently testing a new antibody test that may be able to show if a person has had Covid - 19.
TESTING NHS STAFF:
The highest priority cases will be tested first, this includes those most at risk of severe illness and it also includes NHS staff.
Staff testing is now being rolled out across the NHS from next week, starting with critical care nurses and expanding to other medical professionals, including people in the social care sector.
TEST FOR INDIVIDUALS:
The overriding aim is to save lives, protect the most vulnerable and relieve pressure on the NHS. It is not practical to test everyone in the country. Because, as the medical experts have advised, the majority of people with the virus will have only mild symptoms but others will be at much greater risk, it is therefore better to prioritise those most at risk, such as patients in critical care, when deciding who to test.
(Obviously those most at risk also includes front-line medical staff, and the criteria for testing also reflect the importance of testing those in jobs which bring them into contact with a lot of people so that they do not spread the disease.)
UPDATE 29TH MARCH
Health secretary Matt Hancock tweeted this morning that the UK has now hit the target to test 10,000 people per day, adding that we are now on track to test 25,000 a day.
Comments