Coronavirus Northern Ireland: Everyone in UK with symptoms “now eligible for coronavirus tests” | Latest Newry News, Newry Sport and Newry Business for Newry City

Coronavirus Northern Ireland: Everyone in UK with symptoms “now eligible for coronavirus tests”

The Government has announced that anyone with symptoms of coronavirus is now eligible to book a test, ahead of the rollout of the test and trace service.

 

The expansion in testing eligibility comes after all four UK Chief Medical Officers confirmed that anosmia has been added as a symptom of COVID-19.

 

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Anosmia is the loss of or a change in your normal sense of smell, and it can also affect your sense of taste.

This means people should self-isolate immediately if they have a new, continuous cough; high temperature; or a loss of or change in their normal sense of smell or taste.

All members of their household must also self-isolate according to current guidelines unless the symptomatic individual receives a negative test result.

 

 

Testing

The extension in testing eligibility comes ahead of the rollout of the new test and trace service and is possible thanks to increased testing capacity across the country as the Government expands total testing capacity towards 200,000 tests a day.

The government has more than doubled the capacity of the NHS/PHE laboratory network, set up 50 regional test centres and 116 mobile testing units, and introduced home testing kits and three Lighthouse laboratories.

The number of tests available for the general population will increase as capacity continues to expand.

 

 

Health and Social Care Secretary Matt Hancock said, “Following the massive ramping up of our National Testing programme, anybody with symptoms of coronavirus in the United Kingdom is now eligible for a test.

“This is a huge step forward in our plan to slow the spread of the virus, protect the NHS and give the peace of mind these tests can bring.

“We will continue to give priority for NHS staff and care home residents and workers in order to protect our most vulnerable,” he added.

 

 

Keep up to date with all the latest Northern Ireland Coronavirus / Covid-19 news HERE

 

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Posted by on May 21 2020. Filed under Coronavirus. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry

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