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Covid-19 testing begins in UK’s Liverpool; foreign secy Raab in isolation
Nearly 2,000 army personnel are helping roll out the tests in Liverpool which had one of the largest surges of the virus in recent weeks.
Mass testing for Covid-19 for people with or without symptoms began in Liverpool, United Kingdom on Friday as foreign secretary Dominic Raab went into 14-day isolation after being in contact with an individual with the virus and new cases continued to mount across the UK.
Nearly 2,000 army personnel are helping roll out the tests in Liverpool, which had one of the largest surges of the virus in recent weeks and has been in the highest alert ‘level 3’ before the lockdown from Thursday. The whole-city pilot may be rolled out elsewhere in the UK.
A spokesman for Raab said, “The foreign secretary was today (Thursday) informed that an individual with whom he has been in recent close contact with has tested positive for coronavirus”.
“In line with government regulations and NHS track and trace rules, the foreign secretary has taken immediate steps to self-isolate for the required period”, he added. Raab would continue to work remotely.
People in Liverpool are being offered a mix of swab tests and new lateral flow tests, which could provide a result in 20 minutes without the need to send them to a laboratory. Test centres have been set up in schools, universities, offices and care homes.
Prime Minister Boris Johnson said he was “hugely grateful” to the people of Liverpool for their participation in this pilot, and set out the scale of Covid-19 challenge. “The challenges we face are significant across the UK. The average number of new cases each day is now 22,398, that’s up from 9,716 a month earlier,” he said.
“There are now 12,320 patients in hospital, up from 2,602 a month earlier. 1,142 patients are now in mechanical ventilation beds, up from 369 a month earlier. Sadly 492 deaths were reported yesterday. The weekly average number of deaths each day is now 295, up from 53 a month earlier. That’s why new restrictions are in place in each part of the UK”.
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Addressing the country from Downing Street, Johnson ended with a note of optimism, telling Britons that there is “light at the end of the tunnel”, noting that health professionals now had better treatments and techniques to deal with the virus.
“More broadly, there is also the very real chance of safe and effective vaccines. So taking those things together, these scientific advances can show us the way ahead”, he added.
As of Thursday night, the UK had recorded 24,141 new cases – nearly five times the daily-rise in April and May – and 378 deaths. The cumulative figures were 1,123,197 cases and 48,120 deaths.
