People demand NHS workers get priority coronavirus testing

More than a million people have signed a petition calling for NHS staff to be prioritised for coronavirus testing so they can continue to work.

The petition was started by junior doctor Rebecca McCauley, who told Health Secretary Matt Hancock that all NHS workers, including cleaners who are ‘the unsung heroes’, are facing a dilemma at work.

The current situation means that any staff who have a cough, which is a regular enough occurrence in match, are being advised to either stay off work for seven days or go to work and potentially spread coronavirus to sick patients - all because they would not know if it is COVID-19 without a test.

McCauley said: "Currently, tests are only being done on patients who require hospital admission. This virus will cause minor symptoms for most people, and relatively young and healthy staff are most likely to fall into that category.

"The issue is the patients we treat are not healthy, they are frail and vulnerable. Ask yourself this - if your loved one needs hospital care for a condition not related to COVID-19, would you want them to be treated by staff who are likely infected with it?”

Prime Minister Boris Johnson has vowed to step up daily testing from the current 5,000 a day ‘to 10,000, to 25,000 and then 250,000’ - but it remains to be seen who would be tested.