The Department of Health and Social Care have announced that local authorities will be encouraged to target testing at people who are unable to work from home during the national lockdown. Expansion of asymptomatic testing will identify more positive cases of COVID-19 and ensure those infected isolate, protecting those who cannot work from home and vital services. The Government believe this programme is crucial given that around 1 in 3 people have coronavirus without displaying any symptoms. So far, 131 local authorities have signed up to community testing, with 107 already having started testing in their communities, with many focusing on the testing of critical workers and those who must leave home for essential reasons. In addition to local authorities, NHS Test and Trace will also work closely with other government departments to scale up workforce testing. Many are already piloting regular workforce testing, with 15 large employers having taken up this offer already across 64 sites, including organisations operating in the food, manufacturing, energy and retail sectors, and within the public sector including job centres, transport networks, and the military.
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