Fewer people would have died from coronavirus in the UK if the country had greater testing capacity sooner, Transport Secretary Grant Shapps has said.
Speaking on Sunday, Mr Shapps said “many things” could have been different if the UK’s testing capacity was above 100,000 before Covid-19 spread in the country.
More than 28,000 people have now died after testing positive for the virus in the UK.
Asked whether fewer people would have died if testing capacity had been greater sooner, Mr Shapps told BBC Andrew Marr Show: “Yes.
“If we had had 100,000 test capacity before this thing started and the knowledge that we now have retrospectively I’m sure many things could be different.
“The fact of the matter is this is not a country that had – although we’re very big in pharmaceuticals as a country – we’re not a country that had very large test capacity.”
It comes as the Transport Secretary announced that the NHS coronavirus contact tracing app will be trialled in the Isle of Wight this week before being rolled out more widely later this month.
He said the NHSX app, which will be "completely confidential", will need to be downloaded by more than half of the UK to work effectively.
He said the app is a "fantastic way" to ensure the country can “keep a lid” on coronavirus and prevent a second wave.
Mr Shapps also said he was “actively looking at” quarantining people travelling to the UK from abroad to keep coronavirus infection rates under control.
He told BBC Andrew Marr Show: “I think it is important that as we are seeing the numbers decrease and the R rate we hope decrease…that we do ensure that the sacrifices in a sense – social distancing – that we are asking the British people to make are matched by anybody who comes to this country.
“I am actively looking at these issues right now so that when we have infection rates within the country under control we are not importing.”
The number of people who have died in UK hospitals after testing positive for coronavirus jumped by 621 yesterday.
A total of 28,131 people who tested positive for the virus have now died, up from 27,510 the day before.
