Prime Minister Boris Johnson had promised a “world-beating” national Test and Trace system earlier this year, but the scheme has disappointed.
The government’s scientific advisory body also said last month its impact on CCP virus transmission was marginal.
According to the government, the new pilot has been “made possible by the dramatic increase in testing capacity and new technologies.”
It will use both existing swab tests and new lateral flow tests, which have a rapid one-hour turnaround time and don’t need lab processing, the government said.
Precursor to a Wider Rollout
The mass testing in Liverpool will start on Friday, and Johnson said, if successful, it was a precursor to a wider rollout across the country.The testing will be carried out at dedicated testing sites, workplaces, schools, and universities, as well as with kits at home, the government said.
‘Several Big Ifs’
Disease experts have welcomed the mass testing pilot, but with some reservations.“There are several big ‘ifs’ though: people need to show up for testing, testing should happen repeatedly in order to track changes over time, and—most importantly—the track and trace system needs to function effectively,” he added.
“Most of our accuracy information comes from controlled lab studies, but tests often perform differently in real-world use,” he said. “Pinning down test performance in the field is surprisingly challenging.”
“It’s hard to see how expanding testing can help alone, but hopefully we’ll learn from the pilot in Liverpool,” he added.
In contrast, Irene Peterson, a professor of epidemiology at University College London, wrote on Twitter that news of the pilot was “a little light in the dark” that might help pin-point asymptomatic cases and break the transmission chain.
The United Kingdom has the highest COVID-19 death toll in Europe, and a second national lockdown is due to come into force in England on Thursday.
Some 2,000 military personnel will be deployed in Liverpool from Thursday to help deliver the tests.
Tests can be booked online, through walk-up at testing centres, or people will be invited to have a test by the local authority. People will receive their results by text and email from NHS Test and Trace.
Those testing positive and their households will be required to self-isolate straightaway while Test and Trace will track their contacts.
Those testing negative will be required to follow “all national guidance,” the government said.
Liverpool was the first city to be placed in the highest of the three COVID alert levels in England’s new three-tier response system. Weekly cases stood at over 410 per 100,000 people as of Oct. 25, the government said.