Coronavirus latest news: Boris to discuss easing lockdown as he returns to No 10 – Telegraph.co.uk, Telegraph.co.uk

Professor Peter Horby, chairman of the New and Emerging Respiratory Virus Threats Advisory Group (Nervtag), said the Government’s plans to move into tracking and tracing future Covid – 19 patients would be a “real logistical challenge”.

He told BBC Radio 4’s Today program: “The test and trace capabilities are really going to be critical as we come out of lockdown.

“We will have to be able to test all those people (declaring via apps that they are displaying symptoms) and it is really a matter of scale and speed.

“One issue is how many tests we need, and if we are looking at 1, 000 to 5, (new cases per day of people with symptoms, of which maybe 5 – 25% may have Covid, then you are talking about 100, 000 to 100, 000 tests per day.

“It is a real logistical challenge. But there is also the issue of speed as well.

“It is not much use getting the results five days later, you need it quickly so you can take the appropriate action and advise people to stay at home and also their contacts to stay at home to reduce transmission.”