COVID-19 testing pilots to be expanded in £500m package

The UK government has announced a £500 million funding package to be invested in COVID-19 testing technology and to increase capacity.

A new, community-wide trial in Salford will launch to assess the benefits of repeat population testing. Existing trials in Southampton and Hampshire, using a saliva test and a rapid 20-minute test, will also be expanded.

It’s hoped that using this technology can break chains of transmission by delivering on-the-spot results, with successful trials being expanded and rolled out more widely.

Part of the funding will be used to extend capacity for existing polymerase chain reaction (PCR) testing.

Saliva-based testing will be used to test the community in Salford, Greater Manchester, in the coming weeks. Working with Salford Council, local health partners and voluntary and community-based networks, some people living in Salford will be invited for a weekly test. The pilot will explore how regular repeat testing can be made as accessible as possible and will inform how to scale community testing across the country.

The pilot will begin with a select number of participants and up to 250 tests a day, to be scaled to the whole area. Initially, the pilot will focus on a specific high footfall location in the city, which includes retail, public services, transport and faith spaces.

Phase 2 of the no-swab saliva test pilot in Southampton will also start this week. The second phase of the pilot will trial the weekly testing model in educational settings, with participation from staff and students at the University of Southampton and four Southampton schools. Over 2,100 pupils and staff across four schools will be invited to have a test as part of the pilot, which is led by a partnership of the University of Southampton, Southampton City Council and the NHS.

The pilot of the rapid 20-minute test in Hampshire will continue to expand to further explore the applications of mobile testing in different settings.