Covid-19 Update

James Davies Excerpts

Monday 19th April 2021 Commons Chamber

[Matt Hancock]

Yes, of course, I will give that matter consideration. I also make the case that while, as we open up, there may be more transmission, I very much hope that that does not lead—in fact we know from the data that that is highly unlikely to lead—to the same impact in terms of hospitalisations and deaths, because we know that the vaccine is incredibly effective against the variants that are at large here in this country. That is another reason to be cautious against the incursion of new variants for which we cannot give that assurance.

[Dr James Davies (Vale of Clwyd) (Con)]

Lateral flow testing is really important in our continued fight against the pandemic. I am really pleased that many of my constituents have been able to access asymptomatic testing since Friday of last week, but, for residents in Wales, these tests are not yet available to order online through the gov.uk portal. Will my right hon. Friend confirm whether that will be the case shortly?

[Matt Hancock]

We are working closely with the Welsh Government to ensure that the testing offer in Wales is as rich and as easily accessible as the testing offer in England. Testing has been a UK-wide programme, but, of course, the more we get it into local communities, the more it must be delivered through the NHS locally—for instance, through pharmacies, as announced today. That needs to be done by the Welsh Government. We are working closely together to try to make sure that people can get access to these tests as easily as saying “Jack rabbit”, wherever they live in the United Kingdom.