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Fast COVID-19 Testing for UK

Tests that can detect coronavirus, the flu, and other respiratory infections within 90 minutes are being rolled out in the UK, as 360Dx reports.

BBC News notes that about a third of COVID-19 tests currently take more than a day to process and that Health Secretary Matt Hancock says the test will help meet the goal of being able to conduct 500,000 tests a day by October. "The fact these tests can detect flu as well as COVID-19 will be hugely beneficial as we head into winter, so patients can follow the right advice to protect themselves and others," Hancock adds in a statement.

According to the Financial Times, the 90-minute tests are being supplied by two companies: DnaNudge and Oxford Nanopore. According to a press release, DnaNudge's new RNA COVID-19 test uses the firm's NudgeBox, while Oxford Nanopore's LamPORE relies on an RT-LAMP approach.

The UK's Department of Health and Social Care notes that the tests do not require trained health professionals, which it says will enable them to be used in non-clinical settings.