90-minute tests for coronavirus and flu

Matt Hancock has announced that millions of new rapid coronavirus tests will be rolled out across NHS hospitals, care homes and labs from next week.

Both tests will be able to detect coronavirus and other winter viruses in just 90 minutes, hugely increasing testing capacity ahead of winter, delivering fast results that will help to break chains of transmission quickly.

The tests will enable clinicians and NHS Test and Trace to quickly advise on the best course of action to stop the spread of the virus, although the Department for Health and Social Care gas said that the tests do not require a trained health professional to operate them, meaning they can be rolled out in more non-clinical settings.

A new test that uses DNA to detect the virus will be rolled out across NHS hospitals from September, with 5,000 DNA machines, supplied by DnaNudge, to provide 5.8 million tests in the coming months.

Separately, 450,000 90-minute LamPORE swab tests will also be available across adult care setting and laboratories from next week, supplied by Oxford Nanopore.

Health Secretary Matt Hancock said: “We’re using the most innovative technologies available to tackle coronavirus. Millions of new rapid coronavirus tests will provide on-the-spot results in under 90 minutes, helping us to break chains of transmission quickly.

“The fact these tests can detect flu as well as Covid-19 will be hugely beneficial as we head into winter, so patients can follow the right advice to protect themselves and others. I am hugely grateful for the excellent work done by DnaNudge and Oxford Nanopore to push forward these life-saving innovations in coronavirus testing.”

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This story was first published in digitalhealth.net

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