Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:
To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, if he will make regular mandatory testing for covid-19 available for NHS and social care workers in Cumbria.
The Government is working rapidly to increase the number of tests that can be conducted by Public Health England and the National Health Service in laboratories. Key worker tests are starting, with hundreds of staff to be tested. This test, for NHS frontline workers, which will confirm whether or not an individual has COVID-19, will make a huge difference to the ability of frontline staff to do their job and to overall capacity.