Army deployed to help UK hit 100,000 coronavirus tests a day

'I think it's really important that we're here to help the NHS get back on the frontline.'

British soldiers have been trained to carry out coronavirus tests on NHS staff as the Government seeks to ramp up its fight against the disease.

Armed Forces personnel said they are ‘proud’ to be helping hospital staff get back onto the frontline by testing them and their family members. Antibody tests can tell whether someone has previously been infected with Covid-19.

The idea is to tell if hospital staff have caught the virus and have developed some immunity, making it safe for them to return to work. Private Josh Holmes of the Armoured Medical Regiment said the Armed Forces aiding the nation’s testing efforts is ‘very important’.

He said: ‘We’re going to take that training back, we’re going to teach other personnel how to conduct the same training, therefore we’re going to be able to get a lot more tests completed as soon as possible.’

British Army Bands Catterick’s Lance Corporal Adele Amplett, of the British Army Bands Catterick said comrades had been taught to carry out the tests ‘safely and accurately’.

She added: ‘I’m really proud, I think it’s really important that we’re here to help the NHS get back on the frontline.’

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It comes after Matt Hancock promised the UK will have the capacity to carry out 100,000 coronavirus tests per day by the end of the month.

Speaking at a Downing Street press conference on April 2, the Health Secretary said he was ‘determined’ to reach the target so there will be ‘tests for everyone who needs them’.

He added: ‘I’m delighted that the pharmaceutical industry is rising to this challenge and putting unprecedented resources into testing.’

Hancock said those 100,000 tests would include tests to see if people currently have coronavirus as well as the antibody tests – which could be done at home and reveal results in as little as 20 minutes.

Last month the British Army put 20,000 troops on standby and had 10,000 at ‘higher readiness’ as part of the military’s Covid Support Force.

A team were earmarked to drive oxygen tankers to patients in need while the Government’s Defence Science and Technology Laboratory is helping Public Health England understand the airborne virus and how it spreads.

The day after the UK was put on lockdown to prevent the spread of coronavirus, a British Army convoy was pictured pulling up outside St Thomas’ Hospital in London to deliver Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) including face masks.

There are currently 2,842 personnel deployed to assist UK civil authorities with their response to the pandemic.

Minister for the Armed Forces James Heappey said: ‘Our Reservists are a truly remarkable group of people; each with their own skills and experience from their civilian careers beyond the armed forces.

‘At times like these, to be able to draw on that pool of talent and expertise is invaluable.

‘I know that our Reservists will answer the nation’s call with real enthusiasm and will play a key part in our response to COVID-19.’

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