More than 81,000 people were tested for coronavirus on Wednesday, the highest daily amount since the start of the crisis.

That is a huge leap since the start of the week, when only 43,000 people were tested, despite a capacity for 73,000.

‘901,905 tests for coronavirus have now been carried out in the UK, including 81,611 tests yesterday’ Prime Minister Boris Johnson told the daily press briefing.

The target for the end of the month was 100,000. Wednesday’s figure means the government is likely to meet or will be very close to meeting that goal, though it could be a few days before today’s testing figures are known due to a time lag in ‘verifying numbers’.

Though capacity had risen steadily in the last couple of weeks, the number of people taking up the offer to get tested has rarely been higher than 50,000.

In a move to close the gap between capacity and tests being carried out, the government massively expanded the eligibility criteria.

As of yesterday, all care home residents and staff, regardless of whether they have symptoms, can get tested for Covid-19. Tests have also been made available for people over 65 and those who must leave home to work, as well as those they live with.

The tests are for people who want to find out if they currently have the virus. Previously, they were only available for hospital patients, NHS and care staff, emergency services, essential workers and their families.

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