Focus should not be on how many tests are done, but how they are used and where, say experts
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How many coronavirus tests does the UK really need? The official aim is 500,000 a day by the end of October, more than double the current total. But, amid concern over a series of missed targets, scientists have tried to quantify the projected need – and their findings help illustrate why demand is so high now, and why it will be even higher come December.
On Wednesday, Dido Harding, the head of the NHS test-and-trace programme, revealed that demand in England was currently three to four times capacity, which stands at 242,817 tests a day.