Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps the Government is taking to help ensure that people with symptoms of covid-19 are tested quickly.

Public Health England (PHE) has developed a highly sensitive test to detect the virus, one of the first countries in the world to do so, which has been rapidly rolled out to their regional labs across the country and to National Health Service labs. PHE and NHS England have a combined capacity to process approximately 3,500 tests per day. PHE has processed over 25,000 tests as of 10 March and has not exceeded capacity during this time. The NHS is planning to bring new capacity online in the coming weeks which will help those who are hospitalized or most at risk from COVID-19.

We do not intend to test those self-isolating with mild symptoms. The advice at the following link is designed to help people prevent the spread:

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/covid-19-stay-at-home-guidance/stay-at-home-guidance-for-people-with-confirmed-or-possible-coronavirus-covid-19-infection