500 test sites now open thanks to new lab partnerships

The Department of Health and Social Care has said that a partnership with an alliance of London university labs will add capacity for tens of thousands more coronavirus tests over the coming months.

It is hoped that the new partnership agreements with four London university labs, based at University College London, Imperial College London, Queen Mary University of London and King’s College London, will increase testing capacity by tens of thousands over the winter.

Ministers have also announced that the target of 500 test sites in the UK has now been reached. With more sites opening every day, the median distance travelled for in-person tests is now just 3.7 miles, down from 4.3 miles the previous week.

Baroness Dido Harding said: “As the number of cases rises, so demand for tests continues to grow. We are working hard to increase testing capacity to meet that demand and improve turnaround times for tests. The announcement today of new partnership agreements with 4 London university labs will see tens of thousands of extra tests being processed over the coming months and into the new year.

“We have now opened 500 test sites across the UK, an extraordinary achievement. This increased accessibility to testing means the median distance a person is travelling to a test site is now just 3.7 miles. Alongside this, NHS Test and Trace has now reached nearly 700,000 people and advised them to self-isolate. I would like to thank each and every person playing their part in tackling this virus for the efforts they are making.”