UK government expands trials, invests in 20-minute coronavirus test

The UK Health Secretary Matt Hancock reportedly said that the government is investing in a coronavirus test that gives result in as little as 20 minutes. With the rapid spread of the deadly virus, Hancock informed that the government officials are expanding trials of two new tests - a no-swab saliva test and another that gives results in minutes. The announcement of the new testing method comes after several critics said that the tests for COVID-19 are being rationed because the system can’t come with demand. 

The British government has previously said that they have the capacity to perform almost 350,000 tests a day. However, media reports suggest that only about 180,000 are actually being processed daily. While the officials said that anyone with symptoms is eligible for a test, the UK residents reportedly complained that if they enter their postcode into the government’s website, that sometimes gets directed to drive-through centres hundreds of miles away. 

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Even with critics slamming the government officials, Hancock reportedly informed that the authorities are running a trial on the benefits of repeat testing of people without symptoms. The officials have claimed that the government has expanded its testing capacity since the start of the pandemic, but several critics reportedly said it is still not doing enough to find and isolate people infected with the coronavirus. 

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Funds allocated for COVID-19 immunity research 

Meanwhile, the British government has been allocating funds to support COVID-19 studies. According to reports, Britain allocated over 8.4 million pounds ($11 million) funds to support three different studies. UK Research and Innovation and the National Institute for Health Research, has sought to assist the scientists in funding to accelerate research into the SARS-CoV-2 varying symptoms in different patients. The research would help medical fraternity decode why some people’s bodies have better immunity response to the respiratory virus over others, for who, it might prove to be life-threatening. 

The funding bodies said that these studies will improve the treatment of patients and inform the development of vaccines and therapies. Further, they added, most importantly the research would determine when and how immunity persists or whether people can become re-infected with COVID-19.

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