DHSC 14 January 2021
Interim report of a national pilot of community open-access testing in Liverpool for the COVID-19 virus among people without symptoms. In the first phase of the pilot, from 6 November to 9 December 2020, 25% of 498,000 residents took up lateral flow tests (LFTs) and 36% took up LFT or polymerase chain reaction (PCR) tests. The pilot team developed SMART (systematic, meaningful, asymptomatic, repeated testing), an alternative approach to mass testing. The elements of SMART are:
- test-to-protect (vulnerable individuals and settings)
- test-to-release (sooner from quarantine, when appropriate and combined with other measures)
- test-to-enable (safer return to key activities for social fabric and the economy, when appropriate and combined with other measures)
