Forex Trading For Beginners 2021: Coronavirus: Quick turnaround Covid test could be 'major breakthrough' says Eustice

Soldier directs people at a testing centre in Liverpool

New quick-turnaround Covid tests being trialled in Liverpool could be a "major breakthrough" in the battle against coronavirus, the environment secretary has said.

George Eustice said the new 'lateral flow' test is now available to everyone in Liverpool as part of the pilot.

Number 10 had been focusing on faster testing, which if successful, could be "a major breakthrough" he told the BBC.

Boris Johnson has said that NHS

Test and Trace needs to give faster results.

A mass coronavirus testing programme is being carried out in Liverpool, with all residents being offered regular Covid-19 tests - whether or not they have symptoms.

It is the first trial of whole-city testing in England.

The pilot includes a mix of existing swab tests and the new lateral flow tests - which can provide a result within an hour without the need to use a lab.

Mr Eustice told BBC Breakfast: "A test is only as good as the speed with which you can turn a result around.

"What we've really been focusing on more recently is a faster test, so that people can act more quickly to prevent the spread of the virus so this, if we can make it work, is a major breakthrough."

BBC health and science correspondent James Gallagher says rapid or "lateral flow" tests need there to be high levels of the virus in the body to work. It is not yet clear how good they are at catching people in the early stages of the infection, when the virus is still taking hold.

They are similar to pregnancy tests and are easy, cheap and fast.

Fluid from a nasal swab or saliva goes on to one end of the test, then a marking appears if the person is positive.

Meanwhile, Transport Secretary Grant Shapps said the government's 'global travel taskforce' was making "very good progress" on developing a testing regime to reduce the 14-day quarantine period for international arrivals.

He told an aviation conference, held virtually: "This will consist of a single test for arrivals into the UK provided by the private sector at a cost to the passenger, allowing us a much-reduced period of self-isolation."

Mr Shapps said that beyond the lockdown, a new testing regime "should encourage more people to be able to book flights with confidence, knowing there is an option which allows them to shorten self-isolation if they're going somewhere which isn't in - or does become outside - a travel corridor."

He added that the lateral flow test also gave "some hope for optimism" as it could "open the way for non-quarantine air travel", which he said the government would "love to achieve".

The transport secretary has previously said that he was "very hopeful" a new testing scheme could be in place by 1 December.

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The prime minister said last month that he shared "people's frustrations" at the turnaround times for results, following criticism of England's test and trace system.

Mr Johnson's comments came after figures for the week ending 14 October showed that just 15.1% of people who were tested received their result within 24 hours.

Last week, the government said it had hit its target of having the capacity to carry out 500,000 coronavirus tests a day across the UK by the end of October.

The data for 31 October showed just over 525,000 tests could be done - a doubling of capacity in two months. However, just under 300,000 tests were actually carried out.

Mr Johnson previously said mass testing had "the potential to be a powerful new weapon in our fight against Covid-19".

However, some health experts have criticised the Liverpool trial, with Allyson Pollock, professor of public health at Newcastle University, warning that plans to test asymptomatic people went against advice from the Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (Sage) to prioritise tests for those displaying symptoms.

Meanwhile on Sunday, another 156 people in the UK were reported to have died within 28 days of a positive coronavirus test, with a further 20,572 cases of the virus.