Antibody tests to tell millions if they had coronaviruses will be implemented in two weeks

Accurate antibody tests that can tell millions of Britons if they have had coronaviruses will be rolled out across the UK within a fortnight.

Test giant Roche Diagnostics claims it has created a kit that is accurate enough to be used at scale, and the company says it has enough stock to supply hundreds of thousands to the NHS each week.

It comes after weeks of disappointment regarding antibody tests, which are designed to tell someone if they have contracted the virus in the past and indicate whether they can now be immune.

Roche says its ‘Elecsys’ lab test can detect 100 percent of people who have had the virus, without any ‘false negatives’.

The test is important because it provides the clearest picture possible of how endemic the coronavirus has become. If many more people have had the disease than is currently believed, fear of a second spike will lessen.

Meanwhile, Boris Johnson plans to tell Britain to prepare to return to work after giving business groups the first glimpse of new guidelines on how to get employees back to their offices safely.

In a prime-time television broadcast to the nation next Sunday night, the Prime Minister will set a timetable for when workplaces and schools will reopen.

More stores, factories, warehouses and construction sites are expected to be informed that they may reopen after the spring bank holiday on May 25.

As Britain continues the battle, the health emergency:

• North West England emerged as the new British epicenter of the outbreak, with more coronavirus patients in the hospital than in London;
• Michael Gove warned that the blockade could be reintroduced in areas where infection rates increase in the ‘whack-a-mole’ plan as the government tries to ease the crippling restrictions;
• Piers Morgan tweeted that he is taking a “precautionary” break while awaiting the results of a Covid-19 test after feeling unwell;
• Boris Johnson revealed that doctors prepared to announce his death in his first interview since his knife-edge coronavirus battle;
• A former chief scientific adviser created a rival group for Sage, who has been caught up in a row of secrets;
• Older doctors warned the prime minister that confinement should be eased for those over 70 for mental health reasons;
• Miners were said to have been examining plans to reopen some schools since early June;
• It was discovered that some people were enjoying the confinement, saying that it was helping their relationships, they were enjoying the job more and were planning to spend more time with their children in the future;

Johnson will also reveal the government’s new catchphrase for the next phase of his battle with the coronavirus, which will replace his “stay home” message.

Downing Street has chosen the space on Sunday night to explain its plan in an attempt to maximize the number of spectators.

His speech, and new antibody tests, will fuel hopes that Britain is emerging from control of the coronavirus pandemic.

In March, there was high hope that antibody testing could allow people to return to work.

Health Secretary Matt Hancock was so excited about the technology that he ordered 3.5 million tests at the time, from nine different companies.

But hopes of a quick end to the blockade were dashed when it turned out that the best test could only detect 70 percent of those infected.

The new test solves that problem by using proven lab-based technology, rather than the finger prick ‘pregnancy test’ style kits that Hancock had initially pinned his hopes on.

As long as it’s used at least 14 days after someone has developed symptoms, it picks up 100 percent of cases.

The new test also has a ‘specificity’ of 99.8 percent, which means it generates very few ‘false positives’, which is when it indicates that someone has been infected when they have not.

For every thousand people who take the test, only two will receive a false positive result.

This is because Roche scientists have managed to develop a test that only detects the Covid-19 virus.

Previous tests evaluated by the government struggled to differentiate Covid-19 from four other types of human coronaviruses that cause the common cold.

The blood sample kit, which can be processed by machines already in use in NHS laboratories across the country, has received the vital ‘CE mark’ showing that it is safe and is being ratified at the Porton Down facility. from Public Health England.

It has also received an “emergency use authorization” from the US Food and Drug Administration. With millions of kits to ship to the United States.

Roche Diagnostics said it is “in dialogue” with the NHS and the UK government about a “phased rollout of the test from mid-May.”

A spokesperson added: ‘We will be able to provide hundreds of thousands of antibody tests to the UK per week.

“Reference hospitals and laboratories can run the test on fully automated equipment already extensively installed by Roche Diagnostics at sites across the UK with results delivered in 18 minutes.”

The main benefit of the massive use of antibody testing will be the ability to quickly trace the spread of the virus across the country, by saying who has had it and who has not.

PHE’s Porton Down Laboratory already has its own laboratory-based antibody testing kit, but it has only managed to screen 14,865 people in about six weeks, which is useful for research purposes but not for mass testing.

Experts say the test is likely to be a major addition to the government’s massive ‘surveillance’ program that is being implemented, which will see thousands of households randomly submit smear tests.

Antibody tests are unlikely to be available for people to buy privately, at least initially, primarily because officials would be unable to access the data they need to trace the spread of the virus.

But they could be used as part of the government’s South Korean-style ‘trace contact’ program, to be implemented in the coming weeks to help detect new outbreaks.

The idea of ​​”immunity certificates”, which was initially proposed as part of antibody testing, has also been shelved, mainly because scientists are still not sure how long people remain immune after contracting the virus.

Geoff Twist, Managing Director of Roche Diagnostics UK and Ireland, said: “We will continue to work closely with the NHS, public health agencies and the UK Government to enable the implementation of the test across the UK.”

Severin Schwan, CEO of the Roche Group, said the firm would produce tens of millions of tests in May alone to ship worldwide.

“I am particularly pleased with the high specificity and sensitivity of our test, which is crucial in supporting healthcare systems around the world with a reliable tool to better manage the COVID-19 health crisis,” he said.

Meanwhile, Edinburgh firm Quotient said it had also developed an accurate antibody test.

He said he had 12 detection machines available to process the tests. Each machine holds up to 36,000 tests a day and produces results in 35 minutes.

Like Roche tests, your test has a sensitivity of 100% and a specificity of 99.8%.

Chief Executive Franz Walt said he had received interest from other countries to buy the machines, but had not yet spoken to UK ministers.

“We realize that the ministers and the NHS are incredibly busy, but we are eager to speak given the great interest from all over Europe in the product,” he said.

The news will lead to renewed optimism that Britain is past the worst of the virus, and Prime Minister Boris Johnson also set out to detail how the UK will emerge from the coronavirus blockade in a primetime broadcast on Sunday.

Yesterday, business organizations, including the British Chambers of Commerce and the CBI, saw the guidance the government plans to give companies to start lifting the shutdown. It was also shown to the unions.

It is understood to include tips for staggering employee start times and reconfiguring workspaces so staff are at a safe distance.

It also encourages companies to let as many as possible continue to work from home. Transportation Secretary Grant Shapps said yesterday that the government wanted to avoid a rush hour return.

Hand sanitizer will be offered on public transportation and queuing systems will be introduced on railroad station platforms. Ministers will meet on Thursday to review the blockade, which will have been in place for more than six weeks, before the Prime Minister gives details on how it will be gradually lifted in its broadcast over the weekend. The restrictions are also likely to be relaxed to allow Britons to enjoy more outdoor activities, such as picnics, as long as they are only with members of their household.

But it is unlikely that bars and restaurants will open for some time.

The government will finalize its plans after receiving the latest figures from the Office for National Statistics, which is conducting a large study with up to 300,000 people to see how far the virus has spread in the UK.

At the Downing Street press conference last night, Michael Gove insisted that lowering the closure restrictions would be done in a “cautious way.” The Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster said ministers will try to restore people’s lives “as close to normal as possible,” but warned that the public would have to live with “some degree of restriction” until a vaccine is developed.

Shapps told Sky’s Sophy Ridge show on Sunday: “Obviously, it’s very important to avoid those morning spikes, and infatuations would be completely out of line with social estrangement.”

‘Of course, I am concerned that people can wash their hands, which is by far the most important tip above anything else. We can help with that by trying to have a hand sanitizer, one-way systems, platform spacing and clearly marked bus stops. “Mr. Shapps said the country could not return to” business as usual “right away and emphasized that El lifting of the blockade will be gradual.

“I don’t think we should expect us to get out of this situation that we have at the time of the social distancing back to where we were in February, that clearly will not happen,” he added.

“The focus of what the Prime Minister will announce is that what we do does not undo the brilliant work that people have been doing to make the R number less than 1: the critical reproduction rate does not go up again because that’s when we would see a second spike.

Three railway unions wrote yesterday to the Prime Minister to warn that plans to start operating more train services are premature.

The joint letter, signed by the heads of Aslef, RMT and TSSA, said it was “completely unacceptable” to put the lives of passengers and railroad personnel at risk.

Yesterday, an Opinium poll for The Observer showed that less than one in five (17 percent) of the public believes the time is right to consider reopening schools, restaurants, pubs, and stadiums.

Britain’s NEW coronavirus hotbed: Northwest outpaces London as Covid’s epicenter with more people in hospital than densely populated capital of UK

North West England passed London as the epicenter of the UK coronavirus outbreak today, with more people in the region in hospital with the disease than in the capital.

Data shared in today’s government briefing session revealed that coronavirus patients in London had dropped to 2,033, while patients with the disease in northwest England increased to 2,191.

It is the first time that a region’s total has overtaken the capital since the height of the outbreak, although both totals are significantly lower than their respective peaks.

The number of patients with coronavirus in London peaked at 4,813 on April 8, the highest daily total in the UK, with Prime Minister Boris Johnson among patients fighting the virus at the capital’s hospital in that moment.

Meanwhile, North West England peaked at 2,908 on April 3, the third highest in the UK after London and the West Midlands.

The capital remains the UK area with the highest total number of cases at 24,828, while the North West is second with 20,125.

It occurs when Britain announced 315 new coronavirus deaths today, totaling 28,446, putting the country on track to become the hardest hit in Europe.

The UK toll is now only 264 behind Italy, the continent’s original epicenter, which is likely to surpass tomorrow to have the second highest deaths in the world after the United States.

As Britain mourned more deaths in its health emergency:

Before Cabinet Office Minister Michael Gove announced the UK death toll from the Health Department at today’s Downing Street briefing, public health agencies across the four nations revealed their counts of individual deaths totaling 358.

The difference in totals reflects different data collection methods and time frames.

England suffered most of the currently reported deaths with 327 patients, aged between 46 and 101 years, dying in NHS hospitals.

Another 12 died in Scotland, 14 in Wales and five in Northern Ireland, bringing the total tolls for each nation to 1,571, 983 and 381, respectively.

Of those reported today to have lost their lives, 56 died on May 2, 125 on May 1 and 43 on April 30.

The delay in reporting also meant 95 of the new deaths occurred between April 1 and April 29. The remaining eight deaths occurred in March, and the earliest death occurred on March 28.

Today’s death figures in England also show the chasm in deaths between regions, with the Midlands reporting 69 deaths and the South West 19.

Gove praised the stoicism of the public by adhering mainly to strict rules in force for the past five weeks.

But, speaking at tonight’s press conference, he cautioned that areas seeing a relapse in coronavirus cases when the blockage begins to ease slowly are facing a return to current restrictions.

He spoke after revealing that the number of tests conducted yesterday fell to just under 76,500, 48 hours after hitting 122,000, blaming the weekend for the sharp drop.

Gove said it was important to speak to companies and unions “to make sure people understand the guidance on working safely.”

But he added: “ It is also important that we make it clear that any approach we take is done in stages … a phased approach is one that allows us to monitor the impact that these changes are having on public health and, if necessary In a localized way, that means that we can pause or even reintroduce the restrictions that may be necessary to deal with localized outbreaks of the disease. ”

The Prime Minister will reveal this week his strategy of “hitting a mole” to ease the blockade and get the UK economy back on track.

It is expected to unveil its roadmap of proposals to very carefully and slowly lift the restriction that has been in place since the end of March, but to fall hard at any secondary access point that arises.

It is presented as a new interactive map revealing how different areas of the UK were affected differently by the virus.

Certain regions like London and the Midlands have suffered the brunt of the pandemic, while large swaths of the country have escaped relatively unscathed.

A new interactive map shows the coronavirus postal code lottery and reveals extensive areas in Wales, the south-west and east of England that have recorded zero deaths.

The map, from data from the Office for National Statistics, shows outside London, 24 cities in Cornwall have not suffered any Covid-19 deaths, and the county suffered only 14 deaths per 100,000 people.

An expert told MailOnline that the data weighs on a growing chorus of voices urging the government to ease the brakes in areas with the fewest infections first.

The ONS interactive map shows that most virus deaths occur in densely populated cities and their transportation routes to each other, while towns farthest from the cities appear to be avoiding the worst of the crisis.

In eastern England, at least 23 local authorities have reported no coronavirus deaths in Suffolk and 21 in Norfolk.

There are nine cities and towns where residents have not yet fallen victim to the disease in Welsh County Conwy, seven in Pembrokeshire, five in Gwynedd and five at Ceredigion.

No deaths have been recorded in the New Forest National Park in Hampshire in the southern Milford and Lymington area, while in neighboring Dorset, places such as Bovington, Wool, and Lulworth have reported no deaths from Covid-19.

There have been increasing calls for the blockade to be alleviated in rural communities that have not been affected by the pandemic.

Gove last week there was some ‘scientific justification’ to test the easing of blockade measures in island communities such as the Outer Hebrides, although this has sparked a backlash from locals furious at suggestions that they will be used as guinea pigs. Indies of the nation.

Professor Paul Hunter, a professor of medicine at the University of East Anglia, told MailOnline that there is an argument to relax confinement in more rural areas that have been less affected by the pandemic.

He said: ‘There are a number of factors that affect R0 (the average number of people an individual can expect to infect) and one of them is population density.

‘In the country, you may only see five people a day, but in London, if you could spend time with several hundred people a day, like seeing them on the tube. Much of the variation is due to the fact that R0 is higher in an area of ​​higher population density. ‘

Professor Hunter added: ‘There is something to be said about the areas of the field that do not have such an intense blockade. From that perspective, technically there are a number of areas where the spread is not very high and have not been as severely affected as the main urban centers. But the problem with that is that you see people in rural areas on Facebook having a good time, and you probably feel pretty upset. ”

The first reduction in the restrictions is not expected to go into effect until June, and will be accompanied by stricter enforcement of remaining rule violations, with fines increasing from the current £ 60 to more than £ 3,000 for repeat offenders. .

It will include a massive public relations blitz that urges people who can’t work from home to go where they can safely, and urges key workers to send their children back to school to free them for vital tasks.

Public transportation will also increase, but strict measures of social distancing at stations and attempts to stagger working hours to reduce rush hour.

Seniors could also lose their free ride during peak hours to further reduce the number of waves, the Sunday Times reported.

El secretario de Transporte, Grant Shapps, advirtió que Gran Bretaña no volverá a “hacer negocios como de costumbre” este mes.

He said Sky’s Sophy Ridge El domingo: “No creo que debamos esperar que salgamos de esta situación que tenemos en el momento del distanciamiento social de regreso a donde estábamos en febrero; eso claramente no va a suceder y no creo cualquiera se lo imagina por un momento.

Los ministros están preocupados de que el público haya ido más allá de la letra de la ley introducida cuando la pandemia comenzó a barrer a la nación, según el Sunday Times.

Una fuente principal de Whitehall dijo al periódico: “Lo que van a ver esta semana es una reafirmación de lo que pensamos que sucedería justo al principio cuando emitimos el bloqueo”.

“Pero será reempaquetado como una lenta apertura de la economía”. Por favor, reabrirán los sitios de construcción, irán a trabajar si pueden sin lastimar a las personas, por favor, si son trabajadores clave, enviarán a sus hijos a la escuela.

“Hemos recorrido las casas para volver al punto de partida”.

Nuevas encuestas de hoy revelan cuán renuentes son los británicos a volver a la normalidad mientras cientos de personas mueren todos los días.

Más de cuatro de cada cinco británicos están en contra de las restricciones de cierre que se alivian para las escuelas, pubs y restaurantes esta semana, según una encuesta de Opinium para The Observer.

Solo el 17 por ciento pensó que era el momento adecuado para considerar la reapertura de las escuelas, y una proporción menor de personas pensaba que se habían cumplido las condiciones para permitir que los cines, estadios deportivos y clubes nocturnos abrieran sus puertas.

También hubo oposición a la reapertura de restaurantes y pubs, con solo el 11 por ciento de acuerdo en que Gran Bretaña está en un lugar para reabrir restaurantes y el 9 por ciento apoyando el regreso a los pubs.

Los británicos se opusieron con mayor firmeza al regreso a los eventos del estadio y los clubes nocturnos, con un 7 por ciento que dijo que se habían cumplido las condiciones para que ambos se reanuden, en comparación con el 84 por ciento que no lo hicieron.

En el Sunday Times, una encuesta de YouGov encontró que solo el 25 por ciento de los adultos se sentirían seguros al regresar al trabajo y se opondrían a la reapertura de las escuelas en un 48 por ciento a 28 por ciento.

Y el 59 por ciento de las personas encuestadas por el Sunday Express dijeron que no se sentirían cómodas saliendo y no planean reanudar una vida normal el próximo mes.

Los ministros buscarán trazar una línea muy fina entre iniciar la actividad económica y mantener la ‘R’, la tasa de reproducción del virus, por debajo de 1.

La principal prioridad del gobierno es hacer que la economía vuelva a funcionar, en medio de terribles estadísticas sobre la actividad comercial y cientos de miles de millones de libras que salen del tesoro para apuntalar a las empresas y pagar los salarios de los trabajadores sin trabajo.

Se produce cuando un grupo empresarial líder insta al Gobierno a ser “audaz” y no rehuir el mantenimiento de altos niveles de gasto público.

Las Cámaras de Comercio Británicas (BCC) presentaron una serie de movimientos para un final gradual del bloqueo actual en una carta al Primer Ministro.

Los pasos deben incluir la reapertura segura de espacios públicos, escuelas y transporte público, así como lugares de trabajo y espacios comerciales, decía la carta.

Se deben hacer movimientos para minimizar las pérdidas de empleos y los fracasos comerciales, colocando a la economía del Reino Unido en una ‘trayectoria de alto crecimiento, salarios altos y bajo desempleo’ lo antes posible.

Se informa que los planes que se presentarán esta semana se centrarán en aquellos que trabajan afuera, incluidos los trabajadores de la construcción, debido a que la ciencia sugiere que el virus es más difícil de atrapar al aire libre.

Public transport is likely to return to normal levels and non-food retailers, factories, and warehouses will be encouraged to open.

Work on this has already started: people yesterday flocked to newly reopened DIY stores and rubbish tips.

Orderly queues formed at branches of Homebase, which opened 164 stores, as well as B&Q and Wickes. Costa Coffee drive-throughs were also busy.

Offices are expected to instruct most of their staff to continue working from home.

But for those who cannot there will be strict rules for office spaces

They include mandatory floor markings to keep staff two metres apart, staggered start times and breaks, limits on how many people can get in lifts and regular deep cleaning, according to the Sunday Express.

And in a blow to everyone desperate to celebrate the release of the lockdown with a  cold pint in their local, pubs and restaurants are likely to remain closed for weeks or even months longer.

This is because the bring people into close proximity to each other in difficult to control ways.

But the phased reopening will be accompanied by harder action against those who break social distancing rules.

Primary schools could re-open on June 1, with students from Years 10 and 12 becoming the first in a wave of secondary pupils flocking to classes.

Boris Johnson is hoping to put teachers on three weeks’ notice to re-open primary schools in England to all pupils as soon as next month.

Whitehall sources have claimed the earliest possible return of primary schoolchildren is intended to help parents to return to work.

It will also prevent damage being done to ‘early years development’ about which Gavin Williamson has warned, according to The Sunday Telegraph.

Officials are understood to be contemplating limiting the size of classes temporarily, while the question of when to re-open nurseries is an open one.

Pupils from Years 10 and 12 would then head to school, provided ministers were satisfied the transmission rate did not cause a ‘second peak’.

The move is being considered as data show that younger children are potentially less likely to transmit Covid-19, the disease caused by the coronavirus.

The discussions also come after Mr Williams told the education select committee this week that schools would not reopen opening during the summer holidays as a way of helping pupils who have missed out on education to catch up.

The education secretary also suggested a phased return to schools, saying it was ‘not realistic or practical’ for all school children to return in one day.

He said scientists were looking at other countries for best practice and that a special team of the Scientific Group for Emergencies (SAGE) had been set up to focus solely on schools reopening.

Mr Shapps told Sophy Ridge on Sunday: ‘It’s no secret that of course we want the kids to go back to school but I’d be over-egging it to say there’s a date in place, there’s a plan in place.’