Testing is the solution to “unlock the puzzle” of coronavirus, Prime Minister Boris Johnson has said.
Mr Johnson was speaking after it was revealed only 2,000 out of some half a million frontline NHS workers in England had been tested.
The PM said the government needed to “massively ramp up” testing so that NHS staff who were self-isolating unnecessarily could return to work.
It came as the UK had its biggest daily increase in deaths – 563.
As of 17:00 on Tuesday, the overall number of deaths from the virus in the UK was 2,352.
Mr Johnson, who is self-isolating in Downing Street after contracting the virus himself, has faced widespread criticism over his government’s testing strategy – with around 13,000 tests available each day against a target of 25,000.
