UK orders 50m coronavirus immunity tests
The UK has reportedly ordered up to 50m new coronavirus immunity tests which would help quickly assess if people could go back to work.
The Mail on Sunday reported that a team of British scientists were developing a test which could mean that by June people could reliably find out if they have developed immunity to coronavirus.
The immunity tests have been developed by scientists at Oxford working for the state-backed rapid testing consortium.
Users of the £10 tests provide a pinprick of blood. Then if two lines appear after 20 minutes the user knows they have antibodies. One line means they are vulnerable to coronavirus or the test has failed.
According to the report, users would then take a picture of the results and submit it to a central unit which would enter their details into a database.
The consortium thinks it could produce up to 1m of the tests a week by the summer, adding up to 50m by next year, the report said.
Separately, the UK government is working on a contract tracing app to help tell people if they have potentially been exposed to coronavirus.
The Sunday Telegraph reported that a new NHS contact tracing app was undergoing testing. It works by using Bluetooth signals to test when two phones come close to each other.
Anyone with coronavirus symptoms can notify the app which would inform users if they had come into contact with the virus.
The government also announced 18,000 contract tracers would be used to track the spread of the virus.