Coronavirus '100,000 tests a day' target explained and how it affects you

After days of anger, the UK government has finally announced it’ll scale up coronavirus testing in the UK.

Ministers want to hit 100,000 tests a day by the end of April – with NHS workers and key workers at the front of the queue.

But it’s still not clear if all those tests will show if you have Covid-19 – or just if you had it in the past.

And scientists still can’t agree whether you’ll be totally immune, or how long for.

Meanwhile there’s still no date for when you can get a test if you’re not a key worker, and you fall ill in your home.

So how did the bold new pledge come about and what will it mean for you? Here’s everything you need to know.

What’s the problem?

Britain isn’t testing enough people for coronavirus. For weeks, pretty much, only hospital cases have been tested.

That means we don’t know how widespread Covid-19 is in the population. It’s like driving blindfolded.

Even after raising capacity and a setting 10,000-a-day target the UK has struggled to fill it. 10,657 tests were finally carried out on Wednesday.

Countries like Germany are doing far more tests, up to 500,000 a week. The UK’s problem has been a row over components and chemical reagents. And we also lack a large industry like the one that exists in Germany.

So what has the government promised?

Health Secretary Matt Hancock has set a target to raise the total number of tests from 10,000 a day to 100,000 a day, across the UK, by the end of April.

This would be done through a “five-pillar” testing plan:

• Swab testing in Public Health England, NHS labs to see if someone currently has Covid-19. These swabs are gathered at hospitals, special testing centres and drive-through sites.

• Using commercial partners, including universities and private businesses, to establish more swab testing. It’s been claimed this could produce 100,000 a day, but it’s quite uncertain.

• Introducing antibody blood tests to determine whether people have had Covid-19 in the past. Millions have been ordered by the UK but none of them are approved for use approved yet.

• Surveillance to determine the rate of infection and how it is spreading across the country.

• Build an “at-scale” diagnostics industry to reach 100,000 tests by the end of April.

Will there definitely be 100,000 tests a day?

No, it’s not guaranteed – it’s only a “plan” and a “goal”.

Matt Hancock refused to say he will resign if there aren’t 100,000 a tests by May. He told LBC radio: “It’s much more than about that. It’s about getting the country out of this situation we’re in.”

What type of tests will they be and what will they show?

The 100,000 target potentially includes two types of test – and they are totally different.

• Swab test: This is the ‘antigen’ test to show if someone currently has Covid-19. These are the only sorts of tests done so far. They are vital to check if NHS workers with a cough can safely return to the frontline.
• Antibody test: This is a range of different tests to show if someone has had Covid-19 in the past. It will show if they’ve got immunity (more below). But not a single antibody test has been approved for use in the UK yet, and they may not work for weeks.

Last night, Matt Hancock said his 100,000-a-day test target included both types of test, and refused to say how many of each would be done.

This led to fears there still won’t be enough swab tests, which are the ones in most urgent demand.

However, today Mr Hancock insisted he would be aiming for the 100,000-a-day target even if antibody tests aren’t approved by the end of April. That would mean all 100,000 have to be swab tests. It’s not fully clear how.

How is the 100,000 target different to the 25,000 target?

A government statement on March 18 pledged 25,000 tests a day, “expected to be ready within 4 weeks.”

These would have all been swab tests which show if someone currently has the virus.

But the new target includes both swab and antibody tests so, basically, it can’t be compared at all to the old target.

And what about Boris Johnson’s 250,000 target?

On March 25, the Prime Minister claimed the UK would be going “hopefully very soon up to 250,000 per day.” But he didn’t say when or how.

The 250,000 included both antibody and antigen tests – just like the 100,000 target that’s now been announced.

Does that mean the government’s ambitions have been reined in? Quite possibly. But Health Secretary Matt Hancock insisted they haven’t.

Today Mr Hancock said the hope to reach 250,000 tests a day “still stands” – but only “eventually”. There’s still no set time.

Are the tests accurate?

It depends what tests you mean. The swab/antigen tests are accurate. But so far the antibody tests are not – despite the UK buying millions of them.

One proposed test missed three out of four cases of coronavirus.

“A really good home test has not been invented yet,” Health Secretary Matt Hancock admitted.

The antibody tests will only be released for public use once they have been approved by the UK authorities.

Who gets priority and can I ask for a test? Can I just buy one online?

At the moment you can’t just ask for a test and get one. Health chiefs are rationing them to the most high-priority groups.

The top priority is anyone with a respiratory illness who is in hospital.

Next down the list is NHS staff in “critical care”, who have only started being tested en masse this week after long delays.

Then it’s other NHS and social care staff. And after that it’s other “key workers” such as police, firefighters and teachers, to ensure they’re only off work when they actually need to be.

Only after that would there be “community” testing in the population.

A health chief said some weeks ago that you’ll be able to start buying antibody tests on Boots or Amazon to see if you had Covid-19. But it turns out this isn’t quite right.

Even if millions of antibody tests are released, the government would still want to control the supply.

That’s to make sure they go to the groups that need them, and we as a nation keep track of the results.

How many NHS staff have been tested?

A total of 5,000 NHS staff have been tested so far – 1,500 in NHS labs and 3,500 at new testing sites.

That’s not nearly all the NHS staff who are off sick or isolating. They’re desperate to be tested so they know if they’re Covid-free – and can return to the wards.

Figures suggested more than 100,000 frontline staff are currently off work. Health Secretary Matt Hancock said it was more like 35,000.

The number of NHS staff tests “should” rise to thousands a day in the coming weeks, Mr Hancock said.

What’s it like getting tested? Is it invasive or uncomfortable?

The swab test involves a deep swab of the nose or the very back of the throat, where it joins the nasal cavity. This is uncomfortable for some but not deeply.

The antibody test, if it’s eventually approved, will be a more simple finger-prick blood test. 

What’s the risk of being infected while being tested? 

The majority of tests so far have been carried out in hospitals or in people’s homes, with a small amount of random sampling via GP surgeries.

However, the government and private firms are setting up several ‘drive-through’ testing sites where you’ll only be approached briefly by staff in full protective gear.

Furniture giant Ikea has set up a drive-through testing centre for frontline NHS staff at its store in Wembley, north-west London.

Meanwhile, Boots is setting up another drive-through system at its headquarters in Nottingham and more sites are being sourced around the country.

Currently, these facilities are reserved for NHS staff and by invitation only.

If you’re observing two-metre social distancing rules and not mingling with other patients the risk of transmission should be low.

If there’s no cure, how will getting tested actually help? Isn’t it better to stay at home?

Getting tested helps Britain more than you personally.

The virus has no cure, so it’s not much help to know you have it, other than giving you a bit of closure.

But knowing you have had it in the past will mean you are confident you have some kind of immunity.

And mass testing will allow the government to assess whether such large portions of the population have had the virus, that it’s safe to lift the lockdown for a short time.

There’s a big ‘but’ here – immunity isn’t proven yet. More on this below.

If someone in my house has symptoms but I don’t, can I get tested too?

As we said above, tests still aren’t being rolled out to anyone who’s sick in the wider community.

But if you have an NHS worker in your house who is being tested, the government is planning for you to be able to get a test too.

This may then expand to family members or housemates of the other priority groups, but this isn’t confirmed yet.

Will getting a test tell me if I’m immune?

Yes. And no.

If the test shows you don’t have or haven’t had Covid-19, then obviously you’re not immune to it.

If you have had Covid-19, then you have some immunity.

But the scientists don’t yet know how much immunity, whether it might apply to different strains, or how long it will last.

On top of this, it might take 28 days after you’ve been infected for an antibody test to work, according to Public Health England’s testing chief Prof John Newton.

So while tests help, they’re not a magic bullet.

If I am ‘immune’, will I be able to get special passport / wristband to go outdoors?

Plans are being considered by the government for an “immunity passport” to let those who’ve had coronavirus leave home.

The Health Secretary last night said he was looking at “an immunity certificate or maybe a wristband” to single out people with antibodies for Covid-19.

Matt Hancock told BBC Question Time: “That says ‘I’ve had it and I’m immune and I can’t pass it on and I’m highly unlikely to catch it’.”

However, he stressed it’s not ready yet.

He said: “As yet we’re not going to bring them in.

“Because we don’t know yet that the immunity is strong enough and there’s still more science that needs to be done about the levels of immunity in people after they’ve had the disease. It’s only when we have the confidence that that’s reasonable are we going to do that.”

Won’t this make some reckless people try to get the virus deliberately?

This is one concern that has been raised.

But the biggest worry seems to be we don’t know if people will actually be immune or not.

Eleanor Riley, Professor of Immunology and Infectious Disease at the University of Edinburgh, added: “What are you going to use it for?

“For health service workers in the very particular instance of ‘are you safe to go back to work?’ it might be useful.

“For anybody else I really don’t see the benefit of it – A, at an individual level it’s not informative and B, if people think they are immune they will start to take risks and any attempt at social distancing will start to break down.”