Coronavirus tests could be carried out at work with results within two hours by the autumn, officials claim. The Health Secretary has said officials are in talks with businesses about how they could run their own testing programmes as they re-open. An NHS chief said it includes using ‘on the spot’ tests, which are those … Read more
Matt Hancock has been involved in a series of ill-tempered live TV and radio interviews today where he appeared frustrated when repeatedly asked for ‘clarity’ on how Britain would be eased out of the coronavirus lockdown. The Health Secretary was grilled on whether the Government’s ‘road map’ was confusing and even appeared to roll his eyes … Read more
The government’s testing co-ordinator took a thinly-veiled swipe at Matt Hancock today saying people should not get ‘hung up on targets’ – as he insisted the goal for 100,000 checks a day had been met. Prof John Newton brushed off a row over whether the numbers had been cooked, stressing the big picture was capacity … Read more
A Nobel Prize-winning biologist has branded the Government’s 100,000 coronavirus tests per day target a ‘PR stunt’ as it emerged that it was ‘likely’ to be hit on time. Sir Paul Nurse, chief executive of biomedical research centre the Francis Crick Institute, also tore into the strategy on Question Time last night and said it … Read more
Matt Hancock’s target of testing 100,000 people a day for coronavirus ‘could come back and bite him’, Downing Street sources have reportedly warned. The health secretary made the pledge on April 2 at a daily coronavirus press briefing, saying by May 1, Britain should be testing people at the rate of 100,000-a-day. Currently the British Government … Read more
This morning the government’s carefully constructed strategy for dealing with coronavirus fell apart when Health Secretary Matt Hancock lost his temper in two media confrontations. First, a feisty exchange with the Today programme’s Nick Robinson, and then on ITV’s Good Morning Britain he exploded in a combative exchange with Piers Morgan. Two meltdowns in less … Read more
Ministers’ pledges to test 100,000 people a day for coronavirus by the end of the month are probably impossible to fulfil, NHS scientists warned last night. Health Secretary Matt Hancock’s plan is in serious doubt because of a lack of vital testing equipment, including chemical reagents, test tubes and swabs. The Institute of Biomedical Science (IBMS), … Read more
Can Matt Hancock’s slick promises to test 100,000 a day in the fight against coronavirus really work? By Ben Spencer Medical Correspondent For The Daily Mail Published: 22:50 BST, 2 April 2020 | Updated: 01:47 BST, 3 April 2020 CLAIM: We will test 100,000 people each day by the end of the month. REALITY: Unfortunately, … Read more
Supermarket have rubbished Government claims about mass food deliveries to the sick as ‘fanciful, bogus and misleading’. Health Secretary Matt Hancock claimed talks have been held with retailers to supply groceries through online orders and home delivery to Britons who are self-isolating. But chains insist they do not have the vehicles and drivers to cope … Read more