The latest information on LFDs (Lateral Flow Device’s) as follows.
The UKHSA and Royal Mail have today announced that capacity for home deliveries for COVID-19 testing kits will double to 900,000 a day in response to a week of unprecedented demand.
* Testing kits delivered by Royal Mail include lateral flow tests,
PCR tests and test kits for vulnerable patients.
* The split of PCR and LFD tests sent each day varies according to demand for PCR tests, to ensure PCR tests are always prioritised for people with symptoms who are self-isolating.
* Delivery capacity for lateral flow test kits will increase from 230,000 per day to 650,000 per day.
* In exceptional demand there may be temporary pauses in ordering or collecting tests, to ensure that distribution can be managed effectively across the system.
* You can find your closest location to collect a PCR or LFD test kit on gov.uk
* People are encouraged to use LFD tests they have at home before ordering new ones.
* More LFD and PCR tests are made available regularly every day, for home delivery and collection from pharmacies and other community settings.
* The maximum number of LFD tests that can be sent to people’s homes each day varies according to demands on the wider delivery network and our delivery partners.
* PCR tests take priority for home delivery as these are for people with COVID-19 symptoms who are self-isolating.
* Contact your local authority to find out more about where you can access tests locally or check gov.uk
The UK’s testing programme is the biggest in Europe with nearly 400 million tests carried out to date. So far this week around 400,000 test kits have been delivered to people’s homes each day to help combat the spread of COVID-19.
By Saturday 18 December 900,000 deliveries a day will be made to ensure that even more people can order either a PCR or LFD test directly to their home.
As well as the rapid expansion in delivery capacity to people’s homes, UKHSA is also increasing test availability at pharmacies, PCR testing sites and local authorities. More lateral flow tests will be available across the UK in local community pharmacies to collect and pharmacies are now be able to access 10.5 million lateral flow tests
per week.
Booking slots for PCR testing sites will also increase by up to 100,000 per day from Thursday 16 December, especially in areas where booking slots have been filled.
To ensure a good testing supply over the coming weeks, the UKHSA are working to secure a further hundreds of millions of lateral flow tests and an increase in PCR laboratory testing capacity of up to 150,000 tests per day.