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A massive pilot of the government’s “operation moonshot” has started in Liverpool.
the pilot project You’ll see half a million people being offered tests, including a new form of rapid testing, even if they don’t have symptoms, as Johnson bets on technological advances to lift the nation out of a second wave of COVID-19.
Around 2,000 members of the military are helping NHS personnel administer a combination of swab tests and new lateral flow tests that give results in an hour without the need for a laboratory.
Soldiers at Pontin’s in Southport, where they will remain before the start of massive COVID-19 testing in Liverpool
Loop-mediated isothermal amplification (LAMP) tests, which can give results in as little as 20 minutes, are being tested for hospital and nursing home staff.
But it comes as The Guardian reported that some of the technology at the heart of the scheme lost more than 50% of the positives. coronavirus cases in a Greater Manchester pilot.
The OptiGene LAMP test identified only 46.7% of infections during a trial in Manchester and Salford last month, according to a letter from the Greater Manchester mass testing group seen by the newspaper.
The Department of Health and Social Welfare (DHSC) said it was “incorrect” to suggest that the rapid test has low sensitivity, adding that it had been validated in another recent pilot.
Plans being developed under “operation moonshot” Reportedly, he will eventually see 10 million people tested every day at a cost of £ 100 billion.
Liverpool, who had been under Level 3 restrictions for almost three weeks prior to the national blockade started on Thursday, it has one of the highest coronavirus rates in England at 410.4 per 100,000 (Oct 18-25).
The goal of the scheme is to find asymptomatic cases to help prevent and reduce transmission in the community.
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On Thursday, cars full of soldiers were seen arriving at the Pontins Southport holiday park in Merseyside ahead of Friday’s launch.
Six new test centers have been established in city-run gyms and the Liverpool Exhibition Center to test everyone who works or lives in the city.
Liverpool Mayor Joe Anderson said: “This is an incredible opportunity to jump-start our efforts to reduce coronavirus in the city.
“We are very happy to lead this project, supported by the Department of Health and Social Care.
“We are going to be tested, by our families, our teammates, our Liverpool and let’s be an example for the country and the world.”
A spokeswoman for the Liverpool Council said more test centers will open in the coming days and the pilot is expected to last an initial 10 days, with a view to its extension.
The tests can be booked online or on the NHS app and the centers will accept walk-ins on the first day of the scheme, the spokeswoman said.
The tests will also be carried out using home kits and in hospitals, residences, schools, universities and workplaces.
Meanwhile, at Johnson’s last press conference, he insisted Test and trace it is improving after it recorded a record low of contacts made in England, but acknowledged the “frustrations” with the system and accepted that it “has not had as much impact as we would have liked”.
On Johnson’s side, NHS England CEO Sir Simon Stevens assured skeptics that the second wave of the pandemic “is real and serious.”
Official figures showed that another 378 people died within 28 days of testing positive for COVID-19 from Thursday, bringing the UK total to 48,120, although separate figures suggest there have been around 63,000 deaths. related to the virus.
