LONDON, Nov. 10 (Xinhua) -- The British government is set to expand mass tests across the country after the trial in Liverpool, British Health Secretary Matt Hancock said Tuesday.
He said rapid turnaround coronavirus tests have been offered to every local authority in England and the British government is now aiming to roll out similar schemes across the rest of Britain.
"I can confirm that we are rolling out the sort of mass testing that we are seeing in Liverpool -- and indeed we earlier piloted in Stoke-on-Trent -- across 66 different local authorities," Hancock told Sky News.
He urged all directors of public health in England as well as in the devolved nations to signed up for this project.
"If you're a director of public health and you haven't signed up for this yet, please do let us know and we'll get you on board...And, of course, across the devolved nations," he said.
British Prime Minister Boris Johnson on Monday warned against relaxing efforts to fight the coronavirus pandemic amid looming hopes of a vaccine.
He stressed that mass testing can be a substitute to the restrictions.
China has showed the world that mass testing and tracing is part of the efforts that proved effective to bring the pandemic under controls.
In recent months, smaller-scale clusters of cases have been discovered at different times in Beijing, Xinjiang and Dalian respectively. Efforts to tackle a resurgence have proven effective, which include quarantines, disinfection, contact tracing, targeted lockdowns and citywide mass testing campaigns.
Gary Millar, deputy mayor of Liverpool and also the city's mayoral lead on business and international relations, has called for greater cooperation between Britain and China in the battle against COVID-19.
Comments by Millar came as Liverpool became the first British city on Friday to introduce mass testing of the population to help drive down cases of the virus in the northern England port city. Enditem
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