Coronavirus hope as new ‘100% accurate’ antibody tests ‘to be rolled out in 2 weeks’ to tell Brits if they’ve had bug

MILLIONS of Brits could find out if they've had coronavirus as 100 per cent accurate antibody tests are set to be rolled out in two weeks, according to reports.

Testing giant Roche Diagnostics has finally created a kit accurate enough to be used at scale - and the firm says it has enough to provide the NHS with hundreds of thousands every week.

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Recent efforts to produce antibody tests have been plagued by inaccurate results, with the Government allegedly spending £16million on two million kits from China that didn’t work.

But Roche Diagnostics' claims its new serology test can spot 100 per cent of those who have had the virus with "no false negatives".

'CRUCIAL TESTING'

The test supports the detection of antibodies in patients who have been exposed to coronavirus.

And it will be rolled out across the UK in a fortnight, according to the Mail Online.

Geoff Twist, managing director of Roche Diagnostics UK & Ireland, said: "Reliable antibody testing is the crucial next step in helping us to understand the spread of the virus and to provide much-needed reassurance to our valued key workers, enabling them to continue providing their vital support.

"We will continue to work closely with the NHS, public health bodies and the UK Government to enable the roll out of the test across the UK."

It is unclear whether someone who has had coronavirus is then immune from the deadly bug.

IMMUNITY UNCLEAR

One of the Government's top medical advisers said officials do not have enough information on the issue of immunity.

Deputy chief medical officer for England Dr Jenny Harries said on Saturday: "The WHO (World Health Organisation) position is very similar to the one we would have, which basically says we actually don't have enough information yet to be very clear on the immune status."

She said signs of immunity could vary from patient to patient but doctors would expect people to have some immunity about a week and a half after being ill.

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Public Health England said it is testing various commercially available antibody tests and will share results with NHS labs and other interested parties to support wider antibody testing capabilities.

Today, the UK's coronavirus death toll hit 28,446 as 315 more deaths were announced in the last 24 hours.

It makes Britain one of the worst hit countries in the world, with 186,599 positive cases of the virus.

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