Covid-19: Army to support coronavirus testing in England secondary schools

Members of the armed forces will help secondary schools and colleges in England to set up mass coronavirus testing for their pupils.

The military has already helped earlier in 2020 and more recently helped officials in Kent clear the backlog of lorries caused by France shutting its UK border.

Soldiers won't be in schools themselves but will help staff over the phone or through webinars. If they're needed however they'll be available to come in.

Some teachers think this help will be good but others say it's not enough and that the schools haven't been given enough time to make plans for mass testing.

What will the army be doing?

Most secondary school pupils in England will begin term on 4 January, with many studying from home at first to give schools time to get coronavirus testing ready for their students and staff.

The Ministry of Defence, the government department in charge of the army, said 1,500 military personnel will hold webinars and give phone support to school staff to help them set up the testing.

They'd share their experience of using rapid mass testing kits - known as lateral flow tests - that are quick to use and don't need lengthy lab work or time to give a result.

But members of the army would also be on standby to provide in-person help at short notice if schools needed it.

During the actual testing, most of the time students will swab themselves, under the supervision of a school staff member or a trained volunteer.