Forex Trading For Beginners 2021: Covid-19: Daily coronavirus test plan to cut contacts' 14-day self-isolation

A nurse administers a test on Sarah Key at Dimensions Leisure Centre in Stoke-on-Trent during a testing session held by Stoke-on-Trent City Council using the newly-supplied lateral flow Covid-19 tests. PA Photo. Picture date: Friday November 13, 2020. The tests, which can provide a result within 20 minutes without any lab processing, are being rolled out nationally following earlier successful trials in both Stoke and Liverpool.

Daily coronavirus tests will be offered to close contacts of people who have tested positive in England, as a way to reduce the current 14-day quarantine.

People will be offered tests every day for a week - and they will not need to isolate unless they test positive.

The scheme is initially being trialled in Liverpool from this week.

Meanwhile, the government has also promised that all care home residents will be able to hug and touch relatives again by 2021.

Under

a scheme being trialled at the moment, each care home resident will be able to have up to two visitors tested twice a week, the government said.

The testing for care home visitors is already being piloted in 20 care homes, and the government said it will be rolled out nationally next month.

But the chair of the Independent Care Group which represents independent care homes, said the government was being "rather ambitious".

On Sunday evening, the UK government made several announcements on testing - including that mass testing will be introduced in all England's tier three areas - the highest alert level.

It follows a pilot of mass testing in Liverpool, which used rapid "lateral flow" tests. These are swab tests which give results within 30 minutes.

Health Secretary Matt Hancock said the number of cases in Liverpool had "gone down far more than I would have hoped for, frankly" since the mass testing was introduced.

"The number of cases in Liverpool is now down by more than two thirds from when we started that process," he told BBC Radio 4's Today programme.

Daily tests

Separately, the government said it was expanding repeat testing for people in England whose close contact has tested positive for Covid-19, in a bid to cut the 14-day quarantine.

Currently those deemed to have been in contact with a Covid-positive person are required to isolate for 14 days.

But, under the government's new plan, people will be offered the opportunity to be tested every day for a week and, as long they test negative, will be able to go about their normal life - rather than automatically isolating for 14 days.

The daily testing scheme will first be trialled in Liverpool, the government said.

"The plan if that goes well is to roll it out to NHS and social care staff next month and then roll out across the country from the new year," said Mr Hancock.

"Obviously this will make a big improvement because people who are contacts won't have to isolate but will have to test every day."

Analysis box by Nick Triggle, health correspondent

The idea of shortening the isolation period for close contacts is an interesting development.

Other countries have made this move in the acknowledgement that large numbers of people are not completing their 14-day isolation if they are a close contact.

The 14-day timeframe was introduced as that is the length of time in theory incubation and the development of symptoms can take.

But the problem when infection rates are high is that people can find themselves having to come in and out of isolation on a regular basis.

What is more, there is little evidence of how many infections the isolation of close contacts is actually preventing.

The result is that compliance is low. NHS Test and Trace estimates half of people asked to isolate follow the rules, although other studies have suggested it is even lower.

Some have called for more pragmatism, arguing a shorter isolation will be more effective in controlling the spread of the virus because of greater compliance.

By linking it to regular testing, the government hopes this will be achieved while minimising the risk.

The government said workers in food manufacturing, staff in prisons, and those delivering and administering Covid vaccines will also be offered weekly testing from December.

Meanwhile, Mr Hancock also spoke about the plan to test all visitors to care homes, telling Today it would make a "massive difference" although would be a "huge challenge".

There have been strict restrictions on visiting in many care homes over the last eight months, due to the pandemic.

Asked what extra support care homes would get, Mr Hancock said: "We're going to put in place the protocols to allow it to be done.

"I don't think it takes extra staff to allow visitors to test. What I'm telling you is how we can make this happen.

"I know the care sector well and I know the unbelievable efforts that they go to and I have no doubt that being able to test to allow visitors will be hugely welcomed across the care sector."

Earlier, care home boss Mike Padgham - who runs four care homes - said: "Generally in principle we welcome it, there's lots of ifs and buts to go through yet."

"Depending on what type of test it is, if it's a lateral flow test which the results come back in 30 minutes we'll probably going to have to employ someone particularly to do that in each home.

"Which is going to be, not easy, from our perspective."

Testing for care home visitors is currently being trialled in 20 care homes in Hampshire, Devon and Cornwall.