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Anyone who thinks they have the coronavirus can book a free NHS test to check for the disease.
People of all ages in England, Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland can take a swab test to see if they need to isolate themselves.
The tests can be done at a central testing site near where you live, or they can be sent to you for return.
The latest advice from the government is to get tested only if symptoms of the coronavirus appear, that is, a high temperature, a new persistent cough or a loss of the sense of smell or taste.
Anyone with these symptoms can book a test through the government website.
Covid-19 testing involves cleaning the inside of the nose and the back of the throat with a long cotton swab.
If testing is done on a local test site, results will be provided via text message or email as soon as the next day.
Meanwhile, postal exams may take an extra day to reach the labs, and therefore may take longer.
To have the best chance of identifying the virus, testing should be done within the first five days of the onset of symptoms.
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As the infection rate increases and more people search for tests, the service can get very busy, so local test sites can be full or mail packages may not be available at certain times.
Therefore, the government’s advice is to update the website in “a few hours” to check for additional boxes and not to reserve if symptoms are not present so that people who need further testing can do so.
Should I isolate myself?
Anyone with symptoms of the coronavirus should isolate themselves with anyone who lives with them until the test result arrives.
This also applies to anyone in the “support bubble” – the additional family that they can mingle with if they live alone.
Anyone who cannot take a five-day test, as the test will be effective once symptoms begin, should self-isolate.
After a positive result, it is important to self-isolate immediately, for at least ten days after symptoms began, or within ten days of testing if symptoms did not appear.
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People the affected person lives with, and anyone in their support bubble, must self-isolate for 14 days from the moment the affected person begins self-isolation.
After testing negative again, self-isolation is not necessary as long as everyone you live with and everyone in the support bubble has also tested negative.
