- New tech will help identify mutations linked to variants of
concern
- Rapid turnaround times will help trace contacts of positive
cases quicker than before
- Suppressing variants of concern key to the government’s
roadmap to cautiously ease restrictions
The technology – known as ‘genotype assay testing’ – is set to
halve the time it currently takes to identify if a positive
COVID-19 sample contains a variant of concern, and could be used
in addition to standard testing for COVID-19 to identify cases
quickly.
The government’s roadmap sets out that
controlling of variants of concerns is an essential part of
cautiously easing lockdown restrictions in England. When faced
with new variants, swift action has been taken to isolate cases
and suppress the spread, including surge testing and enhanced
contact tracing. The UK is a global leader in genomic sequencing,
which means we are finding more mutations than many other
countries.
This new technology will mean that cases of variants of concern
are detected faster than before – potentially halving the time it
takes to detect a case, which is currently around 4 to 5 days for
genomic sequencing. By notifying those affected more quickly,
this could allow contacts of positive cases to be traced sooner,
breaking the chains of transmission, stop the spread of variants
and saving lives.
Surge testing, which involves increased testing and advanced
contact tracing, and sequencing has been successfully deployed in
a number of targeted locations to help suppress, control and
better understand variants of concern. This is in addition to the
existing extensive testing capacity NHS Test and Trace has in
place.
Health and Social Care Secretary said:
Innovation is at the heart of our fight against COVID-19 and
has a key part to play in controlling the spread of the virus.
We must not stand still if we are to beat COVID-19 and safely
ease restrictions in the coming months.
That is why our goal is to eventually test every COVID positive
sample for mutations, that indicate known variants, using this
ground breaking new technology. This type of testing will help
us rapidly identify variant cases and trace contacts quicker
than ever before, helping stop outbreaks in their tracks and
ensuring we can continue to follow the roadmap we have set out
to get back to normal life.
Health Minister said:
The progress made so far developing these new genotype assays
is very encouraging and I am confident we will see positive
outcomes from piloting this technology.
Using this test to identify known variant of concern cases has
the potential to accelerate our knowledge and understanding of
variants of concern and halt their spread across the country.
The government is driving forward progress on expanding regular,
rapid testing to help children get back to school and workplaces
to stay open, rolling out the vaccine to people all over the UK
to ensure those most vulnerable receive the protection it offers
as soon as possible, and working to mitigate the risk posed by
imported variants, which this new technology will help to
support.
Genotype assays would complement existing surveillance work that
uses genomic sequencing to look for variants in COVID-positive
samples. Genomic sequencing surveillance will continue to detect
new variants and mutations. Where new variants or mutations are
identified, the technology could be adapted to test for them as
well, meaning the technology can be easily deployed to track the
variants of most concern.
Appropriate public health measures, including surge testing, will
continue to be deployed in areas where there are identified cases
of COVID-19 variants of concern and mutations.
