Nightclubs and theatres could reopen with help of rapid Covid tests, Boris Johnson says
Quick-turnaround lateral flow tests have raised concerns over false negative readings
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.Rapid-turnaround coronavirus tests could be used to allow the reopening of nightclubs and theatres, Boris Johnson has said.
Speaking at a Downing Street press conference, Mr Johnson again ruled out the use of “vaccine passports” as proof of immunity for people who want to go into pubs or entertainment venues.
But he indicated that once vaccination is widespread in the community, he believes there is a role for lateral flow tests, which provide results within minutes, to permit access to the destinations where social distancing rules are hardest to maintain.
His comments are likely to raise alarm among critics who say that, while lateral flow tests have shown themselves able to pick up some asymptomatic cases of Covid-19, they have also produced many false negative readings, giving individuals a false sense of security about their freedom from the virus.
Covid news – live: Lockdown roadmap must be ‘irreversible’ says Johnson as he holds No 10 briefing
When will I get the Covid vaccine? Online calculator estimates your place in the queue 
Covid vaccine passports: What are they, and how do you get one in the UK?
COVID-19 shots might be tweaked if variants get worse
Recent results from Public Health England have shown the test’s overall sensitivity to be as low as 76.8 per cent - meaning that 23.2 per cent were false negatives - dropping to just 57.5 per cent when carried out by self-trained staff at a track and trace centre.
Mr Johnson said future months could see lateral flow tests being increasingly used for “the toughest nuts to crack, such as nightclubs or theatres or those parts of the economy we couldn’t get open last year”.
He said: “I think that will be the route that we that we go down and that businesses will go down.
“You’re already seeing lots of businesses using the potential of rapid on-the-day testing as well. I think that in combination with vaccination will probably be the route forward.
“But I want to stress to everybody, it is still early days, with lots of discussions still to be to be had.”
Subscribe to Independent Premium to bookmark this article
Want to bookmark your favourite articles and stories to read or reference later? Start your Independent Premium subscription today.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments