The health secretary, Matt Hancock, has expanded the criteria for who qualifies for a free test for coronavirus, so who will this include and how will the ramped-up testing regime work? Why is testing being expanded now? Hancock is desperate to meet a target for testing 100,000 people per day by Thursday 30 April but appears a long way off achieving that. On Wednesday there were only 23,560 tests, still below an interim target of 25,000 tests by the middle of April. The 100,000 target has been dismissed as arbitrary and overambitious, but Hancock is determined to meet it. He claims the criteria can be expanded because there is now greater capacity for testing but too few people have been coming forward for tests. These would be tests for whether people currently have the virus, not antibody tests to show if people have previously been infected. Is there capacity to test 100,000 people a day? Not yet, but Hancock claims the government is on course to meet the target in terms of capacity, if not the tests themselves. On Thursday he said capacity had increased overnight from 40,000 to 51,000 tests, which he claimed was ahead of schedule. Will more than 100,000 tests eventually be available? Yes, according to Hancock. “Our ultimate goal is that everyone who could benefit from a test gets a test,” he said. Who previously qualified for a test? Initially only patients in hospital could get tests. When Hancock pledged the 100,000 target by the end of April, he also announced plans to test NHS staff. Later he broadened the criteria to include care home staff. Who now qualifies for tests? Up to 10 million essential workers and their families in England who are showing symptoms of coronavirus. The list of essential workers is the same as the one used to allow the children of key workers to carry on going to school during the lockdown. In addition to health and social care staff, the list includes teachers, judges, some lawyers, religious staff, and journalists providing public service broadcasting. Also included are local civil servants, police, armed service personnel, fire and rescue service staff, immigration officers and prison and probation staff. Some private-sector staff also qualify including vets, those in food production, essential financial services and information technology, as well as those working in the oil, gas, electricity and water sectors. How do you apply? Employers of essential workers will be able to apply on the government’s website to get a test for any of their staff. From Friday any essential workers who need a test will be able to book an appointment on the website themselves. Hancock said: “This also applies for people in essential workers’ households too who need a test.”
What happens after you apply? After entering your details on the government website, essential workers will then get a text or an email inviting them for an appointment. After taking a test, results will be sent out by text or email within about two days. Those testing positive with mild symptoms will be expected to follow the government’s isolation guidelines. Where will tests take place? There are regional test sites in around 30 locations across England, with more planned. The army will be providing mobile testing sites in more remote areas. And Hancock also promised home testing kits.