UK to roll out COVID-19 tests on scale 'never seen before': PM Boris Johnson

London, Nov 05: UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson on Wednesday said that his government would roll out new types of COVID-19 testing "on a scale never seen before" when a new lockdown in England expires on December 2.

This will enable health care workers to detect asymptomatic cases "because 70 per cent of the transmission is taking place...between people who have no symptoms", the Prime Minister added.

"We will do whatever it takes to back British business, because I know that when the recovery comes, and it will come, it will happen entirely thanks to the efforts of the people who are watching me now," Johnson said in a pre-recorded video address to the Confederation of British Industry annual conference.

Johnson promised to support British businesses and help them bounce back from the coronavirus pandemic.

Scientific models show that, without immediate action, the number of deaths over the winter months could double those in the first wave earlier this year, and hospitals would soon be overwhelmed, Johnson told the House of Commons.

Meanwhile, Opposition Labour leader Keir Starmer accused the Prime Minister of a "catastrophic failure of leadership", but Johnson vowed "no apologies" for resisting an earlier national lockdown, given the impact on lives, mental health and livelihoods.
"I believe it was right to try every possible option to get this virus under control at a local level," the PM said.

The ramped-up response came as Britain surpassed one million cases, while its number of coronavirus-related deaths is nearing 47,000, the worst toll in Europe.