Boris Johnson unveiled a number of further measures against coronavirus in the run up to winter.
The Prime Minister announced that they are increasing testing capacity, rolling out a new flu vaccination programme, and are injecting an extra £3billion into NHS funding.
Speaking from a press conference at Downing Street, Mr Johnson said that more needs to be done in the colder months as people are likely to show coronavirus-like symptoms as a result of seasonal illness.
He announced a new testing capacity of at least half a million antigen tests a day - 3.5 million antigen tests a week – by the end of October.
Mr Johnson said: “Demand for testing is not the only challenge that winter will bring.
“It is possible that the virus will be more virulent in the winter months – and it is certain that the NHS will face the usual, annual winter pressures.”
“So we are making sure we are ready for winter, and planning for the worst," Mr Johnson continued.
“But even as we plan for the worst, I strongly believe we should also hope for the best.
“That means looking ahead with optimism – now extending our plan to lift the remaining national measures which have restricted our lives since March so we can get back to something closer to normal life.”
The government has increased the number of ventilators available to patients across the UK – up from 9,000 before the pandemic to nearly 30,000 now.
Mr Johnson also confirmed that they have “substantially increased the pipeline” of Personal Protective Equipment (PPE) for the NHS and social care.
A new flu vaccination programme will also be rolled out, which is the “biggest in our history”.
While NHS England will receive an additional £3 billion of funding, Scotland, Wales, and Northern Ireland will also receive extra funds.
“This will allow the NHS to continue to use the extra hospital capacity acquired from the independent sector and also to maintain the Nightingale hospitals until the end of March,” Mr Johnson added.
This new funding comes on top of the additional £30 billion of funding for health and social care that was previously announced.
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