Mass Covid-19 testing to be rolled out in Nottinghamshire after successful pilot

Following a successful pilot of the mass Covid-19 testing programme in Liverpool on Friday, Matt Hancock has verified that the testing will be extended to local authorities in Nottinghamshire, Yorkshire and the West Midlands.

The Health Secretary told Sky News he wrote to every public health director in England yesterday to make the new lateral flow tests available, which have a return time of under 60 minutes.

Mr Hancock said that 66 local authorities have already expressed an interest in the tests which help to identify asymptomatic people that could be carrying coronavirus.

He told Sky News earlier today: “I can confirm that we are rolling out the sort of mass testing we are seeing in Liverpool, and indeed we earlier piloted in Stoke-on-Trent, across 66 local authorities.

“Last night I wrote to the directors of public health of all local authorities in England saying we can make available these brilliant new lateral flow tests that give results in 15 minutes, and we can make them available to directors of public health right across the country.

“Sixty-six expressed an interest in the first instance, I’m now expecting a whole load more.”

Since Friday, a total of 23,000 residents in Liverpool have been testing under the pilot programme – the scheme was targeted towards people that presented none of the ordinary Covid-19 symptoms, such as a new or continuous cough or a loss of taste or smell.

In the seven days to November 5, Mansfield had an average rate of 380.6 new infections in every 100,000 people and a total of 416 new cases in the seven days to November 5.

This was a slight increase from an average of 367.8 new infections in every 100,000 people and 402 more positive tests in the seven days to October 29.

While Ashfield noticed a lower rate of virus infection than Mansfield, with an average rate of 328.3 new cases in 100,000 people but a total of 420 new cases in the seven days to November 5.

Covid-19 rate of infection increases in Mansfield according to latest Public Health England data

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