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UK health authorities to take Germany's assistance for scaling up coronavirus testing

UK health authorities to take Germany's assistance for scaling up coronavirus testing

United Kingdom

British Public Health authorities are in contact withGermany amid criticism that the UK is significantly lagging behind in its coronavirus testing capacity.

According to PaulCosford, the organisation's medical director ''we’re in constant discussions with colleagues in Germanyand other countries around what they’re doing, where their sources are coming from, what their supply system is.''

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''The countryis testing nearly 15,000 people a day and aims to reach 25,000 a day by the middle of April.''

He says only ''about 2,000''frontline National Health Service workers have so far been tested for the virus.

Whereas, Germany's leading virologist Christian Drosten saidhis country is testing 500,000 a week. Itis also planning to use cell phone tracking.

It wants to use smartphone location data to track a patient's recent movements and identify those who came in contact with the patient.

Ministers and public health officials in UK are facingintense pressure to explain why Britain is struggling to match its European neighbour.