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Schoolchildren and their parents could be prioritized for coronavirus testing, after hospitals and nursing homes, as the government faces “real challenges” in the system, a cabinet minister told Sky News.
The government has come under increasing pressure due to the lack of availability of COVID-19 tests in some areas – attributed to problems with laboratory capacity – and admitted that it might take a “matter of weeks” to solve the problems.
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Parliamentarians have been told that coronavirus Testing must now be prioritized, while the government has also hinted at possible future rationing of testing.
Speaking to Sky News anchor Kay Burley on Wednesday, Attorney General Robert Buckland stressed that prioritizing testing for some groups was “the right thing to do.”
Currently, anyone showing symptoms of coronavirus can undergo an NHS test, as well as those who have been asked by a hospital or city hall to get tested.
Buckland said: “The announcement of [Health Secretary] Matt Hancock yesterday to create a prioritization thing is the right thing to do, he will develop it very quickly over the next few days to explain to us what that looks like. “
Hancock told MPs on Tuesday that hospitals and nursing homes would be a priority for COVID-19 testing.
And Buckland suggested that the school’s students and their parents could be next in line for tests.
“First it has to be the NHS and then social care, and then I think what we have to do is have a cascade system where we know where our priority should be,” he said.
“For me, our priority should be the children in school and their parents to make sure their lives are safe and also, more importantly, they are not disturbed from the way we are seeing.”
Buckland insisted the government had “accepted the scale of the challenge” of testing ahead of a possible second wave of coronavirus infections this winter, noting that the number of testing centers will increase from 400 to 500.
“We are increasing the test centers, we have increased the capacity of the laboratories: new laboratories are in operation so that we can get that quick response,” he said.
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“At all times, the prime minister and all of us were absolutely focused on the dangers of a second wave.
“We have seen what is happening in France.
“We’re totally on this in terms of understanding this fall, if we want to strike the balance between getting the economy back on track and getting our kids back in school, then we all have a special responsibility to follow all of those guidelines and do what whatever is necessary to defeat this virus. “
Issue 10 confirmed that details of the new coronavirus testing prioritization would be released this week.
