Can I get an NHS coronavirus test if I don’t have symptoms?

In the last seven days nearly 5,000 people in the UK have died from coronavirus, adding to the death toll which has already surpassed 100,000.

Due to these rising case numbers, and the real risk of hospitals being overwhelmed by the surge, England has been placed back in a nationwide lockdown.

Boris Johnson has promised to release details of a roadmap out of lockdown on 22 February if cases continue to drop.

This is to give the government time to get cases under control with the vaccine rollout and evermore testing and tracing of positive patients.

In mid-January, the government introduced nationwide asymptomatic testing for those without coronavirus symptoms. 

The current NHS-provided tests are only available to those with symptoms (a high temperature, new and persistent cough or a change in your sense of taste and smell) but it is well-recorded that one in three people have the virus without any signs.

In a bid to address this source of spread that goes undetected, the department of health and social care (DHSC) has encouraged local authorities to use asymptomatic testing from now onwards.

But what does it mean and how do you know if you're eligible?  

Only a limited number of people are currently able to get a free coronavirus test on the NHS.

This includes those with coronavirus symptoms, or those taking part in a pilot local scheme. For other reasons, like a pre-travel check, or if you feel well, you have to buy a private test.

The new testing opens up the option for a wider pool of people - not just those experiencing sickness - in a bid to better understand how the virus is spreading across the country.

Asymptomatic testing had already been introduced for NHS patient-facing staff and care home staff on a regular basis, says the government.  

From the week beginning 11 January, asymptomatic testing is being rolled out across England, in all 317 local authorities, for members of the public who are not necessarily key workers.

But it isn’t available to everyone in those places. The government says: “Local authorities will be encouraged to target testing to people who cannot work from home during lockdown. 

“Many of these [local authorities], including Essex and Milton Keynes, are focusing on the testing of critical workers and those who must leave home for essential reasons.”

So if you’re able to stay at home for your job, you’re not likely to be eligible just yet.

NHS test and trace is also working on increasing in-place workforce testing through employers rather than local authorities.

Fifteen large employers in the UK, including John Lewis and Amazon, have already signed up to this across the food, manufacturing, energy and retail sectors.

And existing plans for testing of staff and students in schools and colleges remain in place. Primary schools will reportedly begin receiving testing kits soon for weekly staff tests.

The test being used is a lateral flow test. These tests can return results within 30 minutes without needing to be sent away to a laboratory.

Health secretary Matt Hancock says: “Targeted, regular community testing using lateral flow tests is highly effective and has already identified over 14,800 positive Covid-19 cases who would not have been identified without targeted asymptomatic testing, breaking chains of transmission in the community."

However, there has been some criticism over the accuracy of lateral flow tests, as shown in community-wide testing in Liverpool. Downing Street insists the tests are reliable and accurate.