GPs urged to ramp up community testing in coronavirus hotspots

Health departments want to damp down community transmission
Dr Jeremy McAnulty
Dr Jeremy McAnulty.

GPs in towns or suburban areas that are identified as hotspots for community transmission of COVID-19 are now being encouraged to test anybody with symptoms.

The most recent national testing guidelines, introduced in late March, extended criteria beyond recent arrivals and close contacts of confirmed cases, to include people in high-risk jobs such as healthcare, plus anybody with symptoms in areas with community transmission.