UK city ‘selected for coronavirus testing experiment’
Scientist says government’s secret plan is aimed at lifting lockdown restrictions
The government is planning mass coronavirus testing in an English city of 300,000 people, a leading scientist has claimed.
The National reports that the city’s identity is “a secret, but, with funding and planning understood to be in place, it could be announced in the coming days”. The experiment is aimed at lifting lockdown restrictions and if successful, will be rolled out across the UK and possibly also in other countries, the UAE-based news site adds.
Professor Julian Peto, an epidemiologist at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, told The National that the UK government has been “been preparing frantically for over a month to do this. They put in a grant application to the Department of Health to fund it.”
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
But for “some extraordinary reason”, the programme is being conducted in secret, Peto said.
“If this works, it would be incredibly popular politically and be a ‘get out of jail free’ card for Boris Johnson, where he can go from having the worst record in Europe to the best record in the world,” he added.
–––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––For a round-up of the most important stories from around the world - and a concise, refreshing and balanced take on the week’s news agenda - try The Week magazine. Start your trial subscription today –––––––––––––––––––––––––––––––
A group of public health experts wrote a letter to medical journal The Lancet in April calling for “a major British city” to be used to trial mass testing for the Covid-19 coronavirus.
As The Guardian reported at the time, the group warned that relying on mass lockdowns and relaxations to control the UK outbreak could result in hundreds of thousands of deaths before a vaccine was available.
Peto, who signed the letter, says that a saliva-based test can give results in a laboratory with fewer than 100 staff processing 43,000 samples daily.
The UK has “significantly increased its testing capacity over the past month”, but still lags behind many other nations, notes the BBC.
The government has repeatedly failed to meet its target of 100,000 daily tests, a total that Germany has been achieving since the start of April.
Create an account with the same email registered to your subscription to unlock access.
Sign up for Today's Best Articles in your inbox
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
-
Less than total recall
Editor's Letter Why our brains want to forget the darkest days of the pandemic
By Theunis Bates Published
-
'A wonky bureaucratic tweak has dramatically changed how Americans drive'
Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
By Harold Maass, The Week US Published
-
Will Aukus pact survive a second Trump presidency?
Today's Big Question US, UK and Australia seek to expand 'game-changer' defence partnership ahead of Republican's possible return to White House
By Sorcha Bradley, The Week UK Published
-
It's the economy, Sunak: has 'Rishession' halted Tory fightback?
Today's Big Question PM's pledge to deliver economic growth is 'in tatters' as stagnation and falling living standards threaten Tory election wipeout
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK Published
-
Why your local council may be going bust
The Explainer Across England, local councils are suffering from grave financial problems
By The Week UK Published
-
Rishi Sunak and the right-wing press: heading for divorce?
Talking Point The Telegraph launches 'assault' on PM just as many Tory MPs are contemplating losing their seats
By Keumars Afifi-Sabet, The Week UK Published
-
'Making Russia pay for its aggression with its own assets has undeniable moral and practical appeal'
Instant Opinion Opinion, comment and editorials of the day
By Harold Maass, The Week US Published
-
How would a second Trump presidency affect Britain?
Today's Big Question Re-election of Republican frontrunner could threaten UK security, warns former head of secret service
By Harriet Marsden, The Week UK Published