Prime minister Boris Johnson has said that the government must "massively ramp up" coronavirus testing, calling tests the key which will "unlock the puzzle" of Covid-19.
Speaking from Downing Street on Wednesday evening in a video message on Twitter, Johnson emphasised the importance of testing, saying: "I want to say a special word about testing, because it is so important, and as I have said for weeks and weeks, this is the way through.
"This is how we will unlock the coronavirus puzzle. This is how we will defeat it in the end."
The prime minister, who has come under fire over the government's approach to testing, is in self-isolation after being positively diagnosed with the virus.
Only 2,000 front-line NHS workers in England have so far been tested, with Johnson urging the need to increase the rate of tests so that any NHS staff self-isolating who do not have the virus can resume their duties.
Johnson also mentioned the possibility of using antibody tests to identify individuals who have had the virus and since recovered and are no longer at risk of infection or transmitting Covid-19 to others, but it is not yet known when such tests will be available.
However, testing has been handed a major boost after Cambridge-based Addenbrooke's hospital successfully devised a rapid coronavirus test which returns results in 90 minutes as opposed to 24 hours.
Speaking at Wednesday's daily coronavirus briefing from Downing Street was Public Health England medical director, Dr Yvonne Doyle, who revealed plans to increase testing of front-line NHS workers from a rate of "thousands to hundreds of thousands within the coming weeks".
Despite the government working in tandem with NHS England and Public Health England to boost testing capacity, some NHS trusts have warned that shortages of vital equipment such as swabs, reagents and testing kits are a major hindrance.
The prime minister's official spokesperson said that 8,630 tests were conducted on Monday this week, despite there being capacity for 12,750 per day.
As of 09:00 on Wednesday, 152,979 people in the UK had been tested, 29,474 of whom were positive.
There were 2,352 UK deaths linked to coronavirus recorded as of 17:00 on Tuesday, after a daily increase of 563, the deadliest 24 hours yet seen in the UK.
