Live events could drive UK’s mass Covid testing push, says UK Music boss
The live events sector could be a key driver of the government’s plans to launch a mass Covid testing blitz in England as lockdown is lifted, the chief executive of UK Music has said.
Jamie Njoku-Goodwin, a former aide to health secretary Matt Hancock, said widespread testing using lateral flow tests “has huge potential to bring back large events safely, and could also help in the fight against the virus”.
“If the government still sees mass testing as a means of keeping case rates down, then live events could act as a driver for mass testing take-up, especially among young people,” he added.
The government is reportedly planning to ramp up testing across the country as a way of tracking the virus, even as the rollout of the vaccine continues at pace.
NHS Test and Trace is preparing to send out more than 400,000 rapid lateral flow tests by post each day in a bid to get the country back to normal.
The campaign, which is set to be rolled out before children return to schools, is aimed at encouraging Brits to get tested even if they do not have symptoms, the Times reported.
But ministers have also suggested that testing in the UK’s nightlife and live events scene could play a role in reopening the economy.
Vaccines minister Nadhim Zahawi said rapid testing was the favoured method over vaccine passports for easing some restrictions, as it is not yet clear whether someone who has received the vaccine can still spread the virus.
Michael Kill, chief executive of the Night Time Industries Association, said: “We have been lobbying government with a strategy for the safe opening of these important cultural institutions for some time now, using lateral flow testing has been a consistent narrative.
“[We] feel now with this acknowledgement we will be given the opportunity to deliver pilot schemes which will substantiate the ability for this sector to open safely at the appropriate time, but more importantly we will be able to plan and prepare for that opportunity.”