Why isn’t Britain carrying out mass testing and can the lockdown be lifted without it? Coronavirus questions answered

HOW many people are being tested for coronavirus in the UK?

The UK is still testing fewer than 10,000 a day. Germany is testing 500,000 a week and scaling up, while 24 countries are testing more people per head of population than the UK.

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WHY isn’t the UK carrying out as many tests as other countries?

Michael Gove blamed it on a lack of reagents — the chemicals needed for tests.

But scientists say there is no shortage and the problem lies in the complicated manufacturing process and checking test kits produce reliable results.

There is global demand and manufacturers are not producing enough.

CAN’T we ramp up testing by producing more of these kits in the UK?

There are calls for the nation’s army of small labs in universities, hospitals and the private sector to chip in and start making tests.

But medical bosses fear these may not be reliable and hamper efforts to fight the virus.

They warn: “The only thing worse than no test is a bad test.”

WHY did the government stop testing every suspected case?

Originally, every Brit who flew back from Italy or China suspected of having Covid-19 was tested, and every person they had come into contact with meticulously traced.

But on March 12 the government abandoned this strategy as they admitted the fight to ‘contain’ the virus had been lost.

From then on, only people hospitalised would be tested and the government stopped knowing for sure how many people were infected.

CAN the lockdown be lifted without mass testing?

Probably not.

With a vaccine likely to still be 12 to 18 months away, mass testing is seen as the best route to get Britain back to work.

One way is to roll out mass antigen checks which can tell if someone currently has the virus.

People could be tested regularly to clear them to return to work.

Another route would be to introduce mass antibody tests — which check if a person has previously had coronavirus and built up immunity.

Ministers believe these second tests could be a “game changer” and have ordered millions but they have not been cleared for use yet.

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