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Liverpool is set to see an army-backed massive coronavirus testing scheme later this week (Image: PA)
Later this week, 2,000 servicemen will arrive in Liverpool to begin a massive testing program, with hundreds of thousands of tests offered to everyone who lives or works in the city. The program, supported by local leaders, is part of a pilot program for the UK in hopes of curbing the increase in cases by Christmas. It comes after Prime Minister Boris Johnson touted rapid mass testing as a “crazy” solution to the UK’s battle against the pandemic. It also follows the UK which reported another 23,254 cases and 162 deaths yesterday as the country prepares for shutdown on Thursday.
The massive testing operation is the first of its kind in the UK, and Liverpool will receive hundreds of thousands of tests on Friday for up to 500,000 people.
Residents and workers will be evaluated with outgoing swab tests and new lateral flow tests, which can give results in an hour without a lab.
In addition to swab and lateral flow tests, Liverpool will also use new LAMP tests implemented at Liverpool University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust for NHS staff, which can give results in 15 to 30 minutes.
The armed forces will carry out the tests at sites across Liverpool, with new sites set up after approval by local authority leaders.
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The UK will be locked again on Thursday (Image: EXPRESS)
Liverpool is testing the mass testing program in the hope that it will provide a better understanding of the scale of coronavirus cases in an area, giving local and national leaders better information on how to handle the pandemic.
If successful in Liverpool, the program will expand to the rest of Merseyside, with other areas of the country later.
NHS Test and Trace will receive the new figures every day and deliver the results to those tested, and coronavirus-positive people will be asked to self-isolate for 14 days as before.
The Guardian reported that only 20 to 25 percent of people are fully self-quarantined when prompted by the app, and also reported that the Johnson administration is pushing for plans to reduce the period of self-isolation.
Liverpool will receive enough tests for up to 500,000 people on Friday in an effort to curb the virus. (Image: PA)
Boris Johnson thanked Liverpool for joining the program (Image: PA)
The Prime Minister thanked Liverpool for being the first city to test the mass testing scheme and touted it as essential in helping to “identify the thousands of people in the city who have no symptoms but may still infect others without knowing it.” .
He added: “Depending on your success in Liverpool, our goal is to distribute millions of these new rapid tests between now and Christmas and to empower local communities to use them to reduce transmission in their areas.”
“It’s early, but this kind of massive testing has the potential to be a powerful new weapon in our fight against COVID-19.”
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Health Secretary Matt Hancock added that he believes the program “will help us control this virus, finding it even before people have symptoms.”
He then said: “With half a million of the latest rapid tests, this release can help suppress the virus and give residents and workers peace of mind.
Joe Anderson, the mayor of Liverpool also said that the program followed extensive negotiations with the government on increased measures to stop the virus, adding: “We are pleased that our many talks have resulted in Liverpool becoming a pilot for mass testing, which will help to quickly identify people who have the virus and substantially reduce transmission.
“We are seeing a slow decline in numbers in Liverpool, which shows that we are on the right track and that residents and businesses are working together and following the guidelines for the greater good.”
Matt Hancock has expressed hope that massive testing will help give people ‘peace of mind’ (Image: PA)
New lockdown measures mean domestic mixing is prohibited except for supporting bubbles (Image: EXPRESS)
Liverpool has one of the highest infection rates in the country, with 352 cases per 100,000 people in the week ending October 30.
But the council has reported that cases are declining with 1,754 reported in the past week, a 673 drop from the previous week.
Liverpool was the first region to enter the level three restrictions introduced by the Prime Minister, which forced pubs and bars to close unless they could serve food and domestic mixing was prohibited.
The region with the highest rate of infection in the UK is now Blackburn with Darwen, which recorded 729 cases per 100,000 people last week.
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