Thousands of frontline NHS staff are being tested for coronavirus at Chessington World of Adventures, it has emerged.
The children’s theme park, in Surrey, has had six lanes set up in its car park for doctors and nurses to get checked in a drive-thru facility.
The workers will remain in their cars while medics in protective clothing take a nose and throat swab.
Chessington is understood to be one of several sites nationwide rolling out the tests for all NHS staff, announced on Friday.
Cabinet Minister Michael Gove, who was standing in for the Prime Minister at the daily press briefing, said the government was working in a "new alliance" with universities, businesses and researchers to boost testing capacity.
“These tests will be trialled for people on the front line starting immediately, with hundreds to take place by the end of the weekend – dramatically scaling up next week," he said.
The tests will initially cover critical care employees but will also cover those in A&E, ambulances and GPs, and will act as a check before they return to work.
More than 6,200 confirmed coronavirus patients are currently in hospitals across England and a further 846 people have been admitted to intensive care wards since the outbreak began.
Sir Simon Stevens, the NHS chief executive, said on Friday: “From an NHS perspective, we think it is urgently important that we are able to test frontline workers who are off sick or otherwise isolating."
It came on the UK’s darkest day for coronavirus-related deaths, which surged by 181 in 24 hours on Friday, and a staggering surge in UK cases, now standing at 14,579.
Boris Johnson vowed to drastically increase Covid-19 tests from around 5,000 to 25,000, with NHS workers prioritised, amid increasing pressure to match other affected countries’ testing rates.
Downing Street is now itself facing questions after Mr Johnson, Health Secretary Matt Hancock and England’s Chief Medical Officer Prof Chris Whitty were all struck down by the virus within hours.
