Moonshot tests of millions will fail unless the 14-day quarantine period for contacts is relaxed because people are ignoring the ‘ridiculous’ rule, Government advisors have warned. Contacts of coronavirus sufferers are currently expected to self-isolate for two weeks, with rule-breakers facing a hefty £10,000 fine. But one senior figure advising the Government told The Times ‘compliance … Read more
Doubts have been raised once again over the Government’s £100billion ‘Operation Moonshot’ testing plan after one mass-screening programme was paused and then scaled back. Ministers had aimed to provide regular testing to all 254,000 residents in Salford, Greater Manchester, to allow them to lead ‘normal’ lives again without the need for social distancing. They were … Read more
The Army could be drafted in to deliver a ‘moonshot’ vaccination drive at empty NHS Nightingale hospital sites, it has emerged. Officials believe soldiers are needed to dish out the tens of millions of jabs to the public when a vaccine is ready. Troops could be deployed to the NHS Nightingale hospitals – which have … Read more
Government pilots involving ‘lab in a van’ tests by the companies Oxford Nanopore (LamPORE technology), Optigene and DNANudge are already underway, but others are being developed and tested all the time. These are some of the tests that could be involved in Operation Moonshot: HALO – ‘Game-changing’ saliva test HALO saliva test kit: Clients can … Read more
Boris Johnson’s own SAGE experts raised serious doubts about his ‘moonshot’ plan for mass testing to save Christmas – warning that the claimed £100billion cost could be better deployed elsewhere and there could be too many false results. The PM mooted the radical scheme at a Downing Street press conference last night as a way of … Read more
Rapid coronavirus tests that use saliva, work in minutes and cost less than £30 a time could be used to try and hit Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s ambition of 10million tests a day in his ‘Operation Moonshot’. The PM yesterday announced plans for mass testing of people in the UK to allow people to return … Read more
Theatres and sports venues could soon test all audience members and let in those with a negative result under Boris Johnson’s plans to get life in the UK back to normal. Mr Johnson today announced a pilot programme will be launched in Salford next month which will see audiences at both indoor and outdoor venues … Read more