The Government has missed its testing target of 100,000 coronavirus tests a day by the end of April for the sixth day running.
Environment Secretary George Eustice announced at the Downing Street press conference that 97,029 people were tested on Thursday,
It is a rise on Wednesday when testing levels plummeted below 70,000 - the same day that Boris Johnson vowed to hit 200,000 tests a day by the end of May.
Health Secretary Matt Hancock hailed the Government for achieving the 100,000 goal on May 1, citing 122,000 tests.
But it emerged that 40,000 of these were tests that had been delivered but not processed. Every day since, levels have fallen below 100,000.
Addressing the shortfall, Environment Secretary George Eustice said "the important thing" is to work towards "ambitious targets" and said testing capacity had topped 100,000.
He told the Downing Street press briefing: “If you have, as we do, 50 different sites offering drive-through tests you will get regional variances.
“You will get some days of surplus tests where people haven’t come forward to take them in some areas, and you will have other areas where you don’t have quite enough capacity for that local demand.
“The important thing is to have those ambitious targets you’re working to, to just continually build the capacity. But you will of course get daily fluctuations in availability in any given local area.”
It comes as the UK's death toll passed 31,000 on Friday with a further 626 fatalities recorded.
Medical chiefs and Labour have rounded on ministers for the failure to maintain the 100,000 target.
Labour shadow health secretary John Ashworth said the Prime Minister "needs to explain" the shortfall.
Downing Street earlier blamed lower testing levels at weekends and a lab fault.
