Experts today lined up to attack Number 10 for a bold new plan to screen the entire nation for coronavirus twice a week using lateral flow tests.
Critics of the controversial kits – which offer results in as little as 15 minutes – called the scheme ‘beyond reckless’ and a scandalous waste of taxpayers cash. Others said the only silver lining was that millions of inaccurate tests Downing St had already bought would ‘not go to landfill unused’.
Lateral flow tests are already being used in care homes and schools to allow visits and keep classrooms open. Under Boris Johnson’s ambitious strategy as lockdown eases, they will be available for free at testing sites, pharmacies and through the post.
Scientific American
What’s Next in the Search for COVID’s Origins
A World Health Organization report makes a reasonable start, scientists say, but there are many questions yet to be answered
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A customer shops for fish at a wet market in Shanghai, China, January 2021. Credit: Qilai Shen
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Researchers say that a World Health Organization (WHO) report on the pandemic’s origins offers an in-depth summary of available data, including unseen granular details. But much remains to be done to establish the provenance of the virus knowledge that will help to prevent future pandemics.
The report was the result of a joint investigation between Chinese and international researchers that included a four-week trip earlier this year to Wuhan, China, where COVID-19 was first detected.
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Boris Johnson has confirmed the scheduled Monday April 12 relaxation of restrictions on pubs and shops
The PM insisted there was no reason to think from the data that the roadmap dates will need to be shifted
But he refused to commit to any relaxations of travel and played down rhetoric on returning to normal life
Updates on reviews being conducted by the government made clear that crucial decisions are being put off
The government has also unveiled a multi-billion-pound scheme for two free Covid tests per person per week
Tories angry that the testing is now billed as essential for relaxing restrictions as well as the vaccine rollout
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