• Everyone in England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland with coronavirus symptoms can now get a test
• Anyone experiencing a new, continuous cough; high temperature; and now also a loss of or change in your normal sense of smell or taste can book a test by visiting www.nhs.uk/coronavirus
• 21,000 contact tracers in England now recruited
The Government has today 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. 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.
