The government had a strategy for this evening’s press conference, which differentiated it from several this week. Matt Hancock, who was himself returning from self-isolation, came with a big headline announcement: there would be 100,000 tests a day by the end of this month. He took lots of questions from journalists and allowed follow-ups which made him look like he was being frank and answering the question. It was all fairly basic stuff, but it had been missing yesterday.
There is, though, the question of whether this target of 100,000 tests a day can be met — and how far off it is. The 850,000 more claims than usual for universal credit in the past fortnight is a reminder of how long a month is in the current circumstances. A mix of 100,000 test a day is also, as Jeremy Hunt has pointed out, not yet the level that would allow a South Korean-style ‘test and trace’ for lifting the lockdown.
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