A deal has been struck with a pharmaceutical giant to provide tests to show if people have had coronavirus, Downing Street confirmed today.
Health Secretary Matt Hancock was set to unveil more details of the agreement later today.
As revealed by The Standard last week, the antibody test will be rushed out to health and care staff first.
The Prime Minister’s official spokesman said: “The tests will be free for people who need them, as you would expect.
“NHS and care workers will be prioritised for the tests.”
The deal is believed to have been made with Swiss pharmaceutical giant Roche.
At least one other company has also had a test approved by Public Health England as being sufficiently accurate to roll out across the country.
The Government is expected to order millions of the tests which will help people to return to work, knowing that they are less likely to infect other people or catch the virus again themselves.
The antibody test shows whether an individual has had Covid-19 but not whether they have immunity to the disease.
However, scientists believe that having had it gives people some degree of immunity, the question remaining how much and for how long.
