TESTING SCRAMBLE

Coronavirus home-test kits run out again in just 80 minutes after the Government expands testing to 25m people

CORONAVIRUS home-test kits have run out again in just 80 minutes after the Government expanded testing to 25million people.

The website ran out of home test kits at 9.20am this morning after everyone over-65 was told they can apply if they have symptoms.

Drive-through slots were still available this morning, but the millions of Brits able to apply could now have missed out.

Just 14,700 tests kits were made available at 8am, with all of them ordered by 9:30am.

Ministers had initially offered just 5,000 home test kits a day when the website was launched last Friday.

They now aim to expand this to 25,000 a day by the end of the week.

The tests were previously only open to Britain’s 10 million key workers, but this has now been expanded by at least 12 million for the over-65s.

Health Secretary Matt Hancock had previously vowed the Government would hit 100,000 tests a day by the end of the month.

Yesterday he expanded testing for Covid-19 to make sure around 15 million more people more can get checked - under radical plans to get the country moving again.

Mr Hancock also confirmed that testing has been expanded to include:

Care home residents, staff and NHS workers without symptoms
All over-65s and their families with symptoms
Anyone who has to leave home to work and has symptoms, including builders, plumbers, those in manufacturing
Families of anyone who leaves the house to work and has symptoms

It takes the number of Brits eligible for swab tests to around 25 million - after ten million key workers were included last week.

Monday saw just 43,453 tests, leaving him still more than half way from his target.

Yesterday Mr Hancock appeared to try and change the pledge, placing placing a £100 bet with LBC radio presenter Nick Ferrari that he would hit 100,000 by the end of May.

MOST READ