{"id":2030,"date":"2020-05-28T10:34:47","date_gmt":"2020-05-28T09:34:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.pacificprime.co.uk\/blog\/?p=2030"},"modified":"2020-06-02T08:13:57","modified_gmt":"2020-06-02T07:13:57","slug":"all-you-need-to-know-about-coronavirus-test-in-the-uk","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.pacificprime.co.uk\/blog\/all-you-need-to-know-about-coronavirus-test-in-the-uk\/","title":{"rendered":"All you need to know about coronavirus test in the UK"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">As of Wednesday, 27 May 2020, there were 267,240 laboratory-confirmed COVID-19 cases in the UK. With the daily confirmed cases slowly declining, the government has also announced that non-essential shops can open their doors again in England from <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.bbc.com\/news\/business-52808931\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">15 June<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">. To help get workers back to work in the UK, the development of an accurate antibody and antigen coronavirus test is crucial. On top of the coronavirus antibody test, the NHS has also made available a free <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/covid19.nhs.uk\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">contact-tracing application<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> to further prepare the country in easing its lockdown measures.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">However, there is still a lot of uncertainty about the eligibility and accuracy of the coronavirus tests available in the UK. Read on to learn all you need to know about antigen and antibody coronavirus tests in the UK.<\/span><\/p>\n<style type=\"text\/css\"><!--td {border: 1px solid #ccc;}br {mso-data-placement:same-cell;}--><\/style>\n<p><span data-sheets-value=\"{&quot;1&quot;:2,&quot;2&quot;:&quot;&quot;}\" data-sheets-userformat=\"{&quot;2&quot;:573,&quot;3&quot;:{&quot;1&quot;:0},&quot;5&quot;:{&quot;1&quot;:[{&quot;1&quot;:2,&quot;2&quot;:0,&quot;5&quot;:[null,2,0]},{&quot;1&quot;:0,&quot;2&quot;:0,&quot;3&quot;:3},{&quot;1&quot;:1,&quot;2&quot;:0,&quot;4&quot;:1}]},&quot;6&quot;:{&quot;1&quot;:[{&quot;1&quot;:2,&quot;2&quot;:0,&quot;5&quot;:[null,2,0]},{&quot;1&quot;:0,&quot;2&quot;:0,&quot;3&quot;:3},{&quot;1&quot;:1,&quot;2&quot;:0,&quot;4&quot;:1}]},&quot;7&quot;:{&quot;1&quot;:[{&quot;1&quot;:2,&quot;2&quot;:0,&quot;5&quot;:[null,2,0]},{&quot;1&quot;:0,&quot;2&quot;:0,&quot;3&quot;:3},{&quot;1&quot;:1,&quot;2&quot;:0,&quot;4&quot;:1}]},&quot;8&quot;:{&quot;1&quot;:[{&quot;1&quot;:2,&quot;2&quot;:0,&quot;5&quot;:[null,2,0]},{&quot;1&quot;:0,&quot;2&quot;:0,&quot;3&quot;:3},{&quot;1&quot;:1,&quot;2&quot;:0,&quot;4&quot;:1}]},&quot;12&quot;:0}\"><div class='code-block code-block-1' style='margin: 8px 0; clear: both;'>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.pacificprime.co.uk\/compare-quotes\/step-one\/?campSource=PPUK-Blog&utm_source=blog&utm_medium=content_banner&utm_campaign=banner&utm_content=single\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-774\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.pacificprime.co.uk\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/02\/PPUK-blog-banners-1138x493-px_02-03.jpg?resize=700%2C303&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"Individual health insurance blog\" width=\"700\" height=\"303\" \/><\/a><\/p><\/div>\n<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">What is an antigen test?<\/span><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The coronavirus swab test, which is an antigen test, can tell whether a person has the virus, not if they have had it and recovered. You can get a test for yourself if you have coronavirus symptoms now (a high temperature, a new, continuous cough, or a loss or change to your sense of smell or taste), and also for someone you live with if they have coronavirus symptoms.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<h3><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">20-minute antigen testing\u00a0<\/span><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Friday, 22 May saw the beginning of an antigen test trial to be performed on 4,000 people in A&amp;E departments, GP testing hubs and care homes across the country to see if they\u2019re carrying the virus. The test results should be available within 20 minutes. Currently, samples need to be sent off to a laboratory and then take several hours to process.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">If the scheme is successful and test results can come back within 20 minutes, it could be a major breakthrough in contact tracing and the scheme will be rolled out nationally in six weeks&#8217; time. The testing will be available through pop-up and drive-through facilities, and even as home test kits in the future, as yet another effort to curb the <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.pacificprime.co.uk\/blog\/covid-19-outbreak-in-uk-safety-tips-you-must-know\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">COVID-19 outbreak in the UK<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">What is an antibody test?\u00a0<\/span><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">An antibody test can detect if a person has had coronavirus before and has since recovered. The test, carried out by a device that pricks your finger for blood, or via a blood test performed by<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">a medical professional, examines your blood for coronavirus antibodies to see if they have already beaten the virus and gained some <\/span><b>immunity<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> to it. The antibody test is usually performed 21 days after a patient has exhibited the first onset of COVID-19 symptoms.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Antibody testing will be pivotal in determining how far the coronavirus has spread and might give authorities and scientists an idea of whether, and how, immunity develops.<\/span><\/p>\n<h3><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">What getting an antibody test will tell you<\/span><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">A positive antibody test will tell you whether you\u2019ve previously had the virus that causes COVID-19 and that your body has produced an immune response. It doesn\u2019t mean, however, that you can\u2019t pass the virus on to others, or that you won\u2019t get sick again. There is still not enough data to support this claim.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span data-sheets-value=\"{&quot;1&quot;:2,&quot;2&quot;:&quot;&quot;}\" data-sheets-userformat=\"{&quot;2&quot;:573,&quot;3&quot;:{&quot;1&quot;:0},&quot;5&quot;:{&quot;1&quot;:[{&quot;1&quot;:2,&quot;2&quot;:0,&quot;5&quot;:[null,2,0]},{&quot;1&quot;:0,&quot;2&quot;:0,&quot;3&quot;:3},{&quot;1&quot;:1,&quot;2&quot;:0,&quot;4&quot;:1}]},&quot;6&quot;:{&quot;1&quot;:[{&quot;1&quot;:2,&quot;2&quot;:0,&quot;5&quot;:[null,2,0]},{&quot;1&quot;:0,&quot;2&quot;:0,&quot;3&quot;:3},{&quot;1&quot;:1,&quot;2&quot;:0,&quot;4&quot;:1}]},&quot;7&quot;:{&quot;1&quot;:[{&quot;1&quot;:2,&quot;2&quot;:0,&quot;5&quot;:[null,2,0]},{&quot;1&quot;:0,&quot;2&quot;:0,&quot;3&quot;:3},{&quot;1&quot;:1,&quot;2&quot;:0,&quot;4&quot;:1}]},&quot;8&quot;:{&quot;1&quot;:[{&quot;1&quot;:2,&quot;2&quot;:0,&quot;5&quot;:[null,2,0]},{&quot;1&quot;:0,&quot;2&quot;:0,&quot;3&quot;:3},{&quot;1&quot;:1,&quot;2&quot;:0,&quot;4&quot;:1}]},&quot;12&quot;:0}\"><div class='code-block code-block-9' style='margin: 8px 0; clear: both;'>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.pacificprime.com\/pp-quiz\/?campSource=PPUK-Blog&utm_source=blog&utm_medium=cta_banner&utm_campaign=banner&utm_content=quiz\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-780\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.pacificprime.co.uk\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/06\/Quiz-Blog-Banner.jpg?resize=700%2C303&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"Pacific Prime Quiz\" width=\"700\" height=\"303\" \/><\/a><\/p><\/div>\n<\/span><\/p>\n<h3><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Can I get a coronavirus antibody test?<\/span><\/h3>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The UK Government has ordered <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.telegraph.co.uk\/news\/2020\/05\/27\/coronavirus-test-antibody-uk-covid-19-superdrug-buy\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">10 million antibody tests<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> that at first will be available to essential workers, such as NHS and social care staff. These 99% accurate laboratory-based tests &#8211; manufactured by Swiss company Roche &#8211; require a blood sample to be taken by a health professional and are not at-home tests.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The government is also working with the private sector to develop a \u2018finger-prick\u2019 type test, similar to a diabetes test, which will be suitable for use at home and without medical supervision, but it <\/span><b>has not yet been validated<\/b><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> for use. Despite the fact that it has not yet been validated, some major retailers in the UK have started selling at-home COVID-19 antibody test kits. However, as of the time of writing this article, <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.telegraph.co.uk\/news\/2020\/05\/27\/uk-health-regulator-calls-halt-sales-unreliable-covid-19-finger\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">sales of antibody finger-prick tests<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> remain suspended following warnings from a health regulator about the reliability of such tests.<\/span><\/p>\n<h2><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Contact Pacific Prime for more information<\/span><\/h2>\n<p><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">As of the time of writing this article, only patients in hospital, or those with symptoms and essential workers can apply for a coronavirus test in the UK. With no existing plans for country-wide testing, many residents are looking for a private coronavirus test instead. Residents and expatriates with private <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.pacificprime.co.uk\/plans\/individual\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">individual health insurance<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> cover are advised to contact their <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.pacificprime.co.uk\/plans\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">UK insurance company<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> to see if their coverage has been extended to include coronavirus treatment and testing.<\/span><\/p>\n<style type=\"text\/css\"><!--td {border: 1px solid #ccc;}br {mso-data-placement:same-cell;}--><\/style>\n<p><span data-sheets-value=\"{&quot;1&quot;:2,&quot;2&quot;:&quot;&quot;}\" data-sheets-userformat=\"{&quot;2&quot;:573,&quot;3&quot;:{&quot;1&quot;:0},&quot;5&quot;:{&quot;1&quot;:[{&quot;1&quot;:2,&quot;2&quot;:0,&quot;5&quot;:[null,2,0]},{&quot;1&quot;:0,&quot;2&quot;:0,&quot;3&quot;:3},{&quot;1&quot;:1,&quot;2&quot;:0,&quot;4&quot;:1}]},&quot;6&quot;:{&quot;1&quot;:[{&quot;1&quot;:2,&quot;2&quot;:0,&quot;5&quot;:[null,2,0]},{&quot;1&quot;:0,&quot;2&quot;:0,&quot;3&quot;:3},{&quot;1&quot;:1,&quot;2&quot;:0,&quot;4&quot;:1}]},&quot;7&quot;:{&quot;1&quot;:[{&quot;1&quot;:2,&quot;2&quot;:0,&quot;5&quot;:[null,2,0]},{&quot;1&quot;:0,&quot;2&quot;:0,&quot;3&quot;:3},{&quot;1&quot;:1,&quot;2&quot;:0,&quot;4&quot;:1}]},&quot;8&quot;:{&quot;1&quot;:[{&quot;1&quot;:2,&quot;2&quot;:0,&quot;5&quot;:[null,2,0]},{&quot;1&quot;:0,&quot;2&quot;:0,&quot;3&quot;:3},{&quot;1&quot;:1,&quot;2&quot;:0,&quot;4&quot;:1}]},&quot;12&quot;:0}\"><div class='code-block code-block-6' style='margin: 8px 0; clear: both;'>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.pacificprime.co.uk\/compare-quotes\/step-one\/?campSource=PPUK-Blog&utm_source=blog&utm_medium=cta_banner&utm_campaign=banner&utm_content=quote\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-781\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.pacificprime.co.uk\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/02\/PPUK_quote-image-01-1.jpg?resize=700%2C303&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"Get an Insurance quote banner\" width=\"700\" height=\"303\" \/><\/a><\/p><\/div>\n<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>As of Wednesday, 27 May 2020, there were 267,240 laboratory-confirmed COVID-19 cases in the UK. With the daily confirmed cases slowly declining, the government has also announced that non-essential shops can open their doors again in England from 15 June. To help get workers back to work in the UK, the development of an accurate &#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":10,"featured_media":2031,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_exactmetrics_skip_tracking":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_active":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_note":"","_exactmetrics_sitenote_category":0,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[5,6],"tags":[767,1220,1249,1251,1234,1250,768,454,457,1162,1248],"class_list":["post-2030","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-health","category-news","tag-ban_sin","tag-coronavirus","tag-coronavirus-test","tag-coronavirus-test-insurance","tag-covid-19","tag-covid-19-test","tag-cta_gen","tag-expat-health-insurance","tag-individual-health-insurance","tag-pacific-prime-uk","tag-uk-coronavirus"],"acf":[],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.pacificprime.co.uk\/blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/05\/PPUK-Coronavirus-test.jpg?fit=1138%2C493&ssl=1","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pcnTsc-wK","amp_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pacificprime.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2030","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pacificprime.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pacificprime.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pacificprime.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/10"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pacificprime.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2030"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/www.pacificprime.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2030\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2039,"href":"https:\/\/www.pacificprime.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2030\/revisions\/2039"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pacificprime.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2031"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.pacificprime.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2030"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pacificprime.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2030"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.pacificprime.co.uk\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2030"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}