The largest Covid-19 testing laboratory in the UK has been opened and welcomed by the British government Sanitation Committee As the “core” of the country’s future coronavirus outbreak management.
According to a statement from the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC), the Rosalind Franklin Laboratory at the Royal Leamington Spa will initially process and sequence thousands of Covid-19 tests every week.
The department stated that the giant laboratory was named after the DNA pioneer and chemist Ms. Franklin, “in recognition of her outstanding contribution to our current understanding of genome sequencing-this is one of our weapons against Covid-19.”
After the laboratory is fully staffed, 1,500 technical jobs will be created, of which more than 300 have already been employed, and another 700 will join in the near future.
It will use cutting-edge technology to complete groundbreaking genotyping tests to quickly identify coronavirus mutations and new mutations of concern.
The DHSC statement added: “This will help disease detectives in the UK take action to curb the outbreak when society reopens, using surge testing and other tools.”
Sanitation Committee Sajid Javid “The laboratory will be one of the core parts of our future management of this virus, processing hundreds of thousands of positive Covid-19 tests every day to help us prevent the outbreak of cases.
“Testing has already played an important role in helping us control the virus, and it is vital to continue to protect ourselves and our community in the coming months. I urge everyone to accept the free rapid test we provide twice a week.”
According to DHSC, this giant laboratory is located at the heart of the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA), which is headed by former Deputy Chief Medical Officer Jenny Harries.
Dr. Harris said that this giant laboratory “will become an important scientific complement to how we manage this virus in the coming months, providing us with data and intelligence about the spread of variants, providing information for decision-making, and ultimately saving lives.”
