Government confident of hitting 200,000 testing target by Monday

The government is confident of hitting the 200,000 daily coronavirus testing capacity target by Monday, despite not coming close over previous weeks.

Boris Johnson committed to hitting the number during Prime Minister’s Questions on May 6. However, testing capacity was only reaching 154,120 in the 24 hours up to 9am on Tuesday.

Downing Street insisted in a brief statement today that they were still on track, adding that the test, track and trace system which allows experts to work out where the virus is spreading and among whom would also be ready by next week.

When questioned if the target will be met, the prime minister’s official spokesman told a Westminster briefing: ‘Yep, that’s right. It’s in tandem with the commitment we have to have the tracing and testing scheme in place on Monday.’

After setting the goal in May, the government clarified that 200,000 was an operational target to increase capacity and widen its Covid-19 testing programme.

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Mr Johnson’s spokesman said: ‘What it will ensure is that we have the capacity to provide tests to asymptomatic people in hospitals and other sectors and also it will ensure we have the capacity we need once the test, track and trace programme is up and running.’

The government was accused of ‘bending the rules’ to reach its initial coronavirus testing target of 100,000 per day by the end of April.

It comes as Matt Hancock announces the test, track and trace system could be used to create ‘local lockdowns’ in the future.

During a press briefing yesterday, the health secretary said: ‘We will have local lockdowns in future where there are flare-ups and we have a system we are putting in place with a combination of Public Health England and the new Joint Biosecurity Centre, along with the local directors of public health who play an absolutely crucial role in the decision-making in the system, to make sure if there is a local flare-up there is a local lockdown.

‘And so local lockdowns will be part of the future system that we put in place as part of the NHS test-and-trace system.’

Earlier this month, Communities Secretary Robert Jenrick admitted it was the government’s ‘strong preference’ that the whole country moves as one.

However, he added that some restrictions could be reimposed on a local level if necessary.

He said: ‘But if, as we build up our infrastructure for testing and tracking and tracing, in time it is required for us to make interventions in smaller micro-communities where you are seeing the virus take hold again, then that will be something that we consider as other countries around the world have done when they have implemented effective track and trace systems.

‘But that is quite different from making major changes to lockdown measures in one part of the country versus another.’

The UK’s coronavirus death rate continued to fall after another 209 people were confirmed dead across the UK today.

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