Fewer people would have died from coronavirus if UK had more testing capacity from the start of the virus outbreak, said Transport Secretary Grant Shapps.
Shapps was asked on the BBC’s Andrew Marr show, would fewer people have died if there was testing capacity sooner.
He replied, “Yes.
“If we had had 100,000 test capacity before this thing started and the knowledge that we now have retrospectively I’m sure many things could be different.
“The fact of the matter is this is not a country that had, alhough we’re very big in pharmaceuticals as a country, we’re not a country that had very large test capacity.”
Shapps told Marr that NHS coronavirus contact tracing app is to be trialled this week in the Isle of White.
The NHSX app is “confidential” and more than half a million people will need to download the app for it be successful.
Shapps said it is “fantastic way” to help prevent a second wave and keep a “lid” on the virus, and the government are looking into quarantining people who travel to the UK.
He told Marr, “I think it is important that as we are seeing the numbers decrease and the R rate we hope decrease…that we do ensure that the sacrifices in a sense, social distancing that we are asking the British people to make are matched by anybody who comes to this country.
“I am actively looking at these issues right now so that when we have infection rates within the country under control we are not importing.”
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