New testing labs set up to 'increase capacity'

The two new sites have been set up to increase the capacity for coronavirus tests

Two new testing laboratories are being set up in Berkshire and Newcastle to try to boost capacity.

The government said the "Lighthouse Labs" would "increase capacity by tens of thousands" by increasing the number of coronavirus tests processed.

It said demand had risen "in part" by people without symptoms booking tests.

It comes as Baroness Harding, head of NHS Test and Trace, said demand for tests was "significantly outstripping the capacity we have".

The test and trace programme has come under increasing pressure in recent days, with reports of people unable to access tests or being directed to test centres many miles away.

The government said the new labs - in Bracknell and Newcastle - had been set up to aid its attempt to deliver 500,000 tests per day by the end of October.

It is hoped the Newcastle lab will be able to deliver 80,000 tests per day by the end of March, with Bracknell processing 40,000 tests per day by February.

Lady Harding said: "We are working tirelessly to boost testing capacity so that everyone who needs a test can get one."

"The service is there for those experiencing a high temperature, new continuous cough or loss or change in sense of taste or smell. If you don't have symptoms but think, or have been told by NHS Test and Trace that you have been in contact with someone with the virus, please stay at home but do not book a test."

Measures for the new labs in Bracknell and Newcastle will include the recruitment of "hundreds" of staff and "new technology" to boost test processing, the government said.