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Spring 2021 33 www.hae.org.uk www.eha.org.uk E xperts claim safer back-to-work environments can be created, while the need for future lockdowns can be avoided, through public health adoption of regular use of easy-to-use rapid lateral flow tests in the workplace. The UK was first to recognise the large-scale potential and is now deploying 400 million lateral flow rapid antigen test kits alongside the strategy for vaccinations as well as public guidance on masks, hand cleansing and social distancing. Initially LFTs were offered to essential health workers, the education sector, and local authorities. This mass rapid testing approach to suppressing transmission has now been extended to the workplace, via private sector and industry groups. Early adopters in the UK included the Royal Mail, DVLA and Tate & Lyle Sugars. This is expected to be significant in reducing the need for future lockdowns. Britain’s Health Secretary Matt Hancock said around one in three infected people do not show symptoms, so testing was vital to break the chains of transmission. He said: “LFTs have already been hugely successful in finding positive cases we would not otherwise find, and I encourage employers and workers to take up this offer to help protect essential services and businesses.” Senior researchers at Oxford University found that most sensitive LFTs detected 83-90% of all infectious cases of COVID-19. Oxford’s Regius Professor of Medicine Sir John Bell underlined the benefit of these removing infectious people from high-risk environments: “They’ve found 25,000 cases just in healthcare, which may have prevented tens of thousands of cases of the disease.” Tim Peto, Professor of Medicine, Infectious Disease, Nuffield Department of Clinical Medicine, Oxford University addressed the contrasts between PCR (polymerase chain reaction) swab testing and lateral flow kits: He said: “PCR is very good at telling you’ve had the virus or got the virus, but it doesn’t tell you whether you are infectious or not and the other problem about the swab test is that it takes a day or two to get the answer back. The LFT has the enormous advantage of giving you an answer in about 30 minutes.” The World Nano Foundation (WNF) also predicts that mass testing is central to future pandemic protection. The not-for-profit organisation’s Co-founder Paul Sheedy said: “Using rapid test kits available to the individual will allow early detection and immediate isolation, reducing the need for lockdowns.” He added: “A key point previously missed by some experts is that high quality rapid lateral flow tests are not for people who already think they have COVID-19 - it’s about everyone else testing frequently to check they are not infectious. Used alongside vaccines, hand-cleansing, and social distancing, these simple tests are a vital component in the battle to defeat COVID-19, future variants or other viruses.” MASS TESTING STRATEGY IS THE WAY FORWARD SAY EXPERTS