Boris Johnson has announced ambitious plans for widespread coronavirus testing across the UK by the spring to allow people 'to lead more normal lives'.
The Prime Minister told a press conference at Downing Street today that he wanted faster and easier tests to spread across the country.
He said the strategy - with test results taking just 15 minutes – could lead to more places like theatres reopening.
A scheme will be piloted in the north of England from next month.
He said: "Our plan, this moonshot that I'm describing, will require a giant collaborative effort from government, from business, from public health professionals, scientists, logistic experts and many, many more.
"Work is under way now and we will get on at pace until we get there, round the clock. We're hopeful this approach will be widespread by the spring."
Asked if Christmas was now now effectively cancelled given mass testing won't be available until next year, Johnson said: "Whether we are going to get things back to normal at all by Christmas, I'm still hopeful, as I've said before, that in many ways we could be able to get some aspects of our lives back to normal by Christmas.
"I talked just now about how you could do that. Through that Moonshot of daily testing - everybody gets a pregnancy-style test, a rapid turn-around test in the morning, 15 minutes later you know whether you are infectious of not.
"That gives you a kind of passport, a freedom to mingle with everybody else who is similarly not infectious in a way that is currently impossible."
He added: "We are aiming for that. We are driving for that. As I have said we cannot be 100% sure that we can deliver that in its entirety."
