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03 August 2020New 90-minute "life-saving" tests that can detect coronavirus and normal flu will be launched in nursing homes and UK labs next week. An "in-place" swab and DNA tests will help distinguish between Covid-19 and other seasonal diseases, the BBC government quoted as saying by the BBC. British Health Secretary Matt Hancock said this new test will be "extremely beneficial" over the winter. Currently, three quarters of test results are returned within 24 hours and a quarter can take up to two days.The announcement comes at a time when the government failed in July's goal of regularly testing nursing home staff and residents, due to the limited number of tests available. But now, the executive said, nearly half a million of the new rapid swab tests will be available in adult care facilities and labs next week, with millions more to be rolled out over the year. In addition, thousands of DNA testing machines, which have already been tested in eight London hospitals and are capable of analyzing nasal swabs, will be released in the hospitals of the National Health Service from September. Specifically, around 5,000 machines will provide 5.8 million tests in the coming months, the Health Department said.
Health Secretary Matt Hancock described these latest innovations in coronavirus tests as "life-saving". "Millions of new rapid tests on coronavirus will deliver results on-site in less than 90 minutes, helping us quickly break the chains of transmission," said the minister. "The fact that these tests are able to detect influenza and Covid-19 will be extremely useful as we head into the winter, so patients will be able to follow the right advice to protect themselves and others," added Hancock .