Ruth Edwards MP has welcomed the news that Nottinghamshire will benefit from the Government’s latest expansion of Covid-19 testing.
The Prime Minister has announced that 600,000 rapid-turnaround lateral flow tests will be sent out by NHS Test and Trace to local public health leaders this week – including in Nottinghamshire
An initial batch of 10,000 rapid tests as part of a new pilot will enable testing of priority groups. These areas will then be offered a weekly allocation of rapid-turnaround tests, equivalent to 10 per cent of the area’s population
This innovative new testing technology – which is already being rolled out in Liverpool – can provide results within an hour without needing to be processed in a lab.
Proactively testing asymptomatic individuals will help identify those who unknowingly have the virus and enable those who test positive and their contacts to self-isolate, which can help drive down the R rate locally and save lives
Commenting, Ruth Edwards said:
“Mass testing will play a crucial role in tackling coronavirus, and it is excellent to see the Government deploying these new rapid-turnaround tests across Nottinghamshire. These tests can help identify people who don’t have symptoms but can still infect others without knowing.
“Widespread testing of people who are asymptomatic will allow us to control the rate of transmission, identify people who must self-isolate and stop the spread of the virus.”