Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, whether the Government has made an assessment of the potential merits of testing all healthcare workers and GPs for covid-19 even if they are not displaying symptoms.

We are now testing all National Health Service workers and patients without symptoms where there is a clinical need. This is in line with NHS England guidance. Used in the correct circumstances, testing of asymptomatic individuals can have a number of benefits, including:

- Developing understanding of prevalence and incidence of infection and how both change over time;

- Exploring key vectors of transmission and effectiveness of public health interventions; and

- Supporting infection control, providing an ability to proactively identify those who are yet to develop COVID-19 symptoms.