Boots to offer 12-minute turnaround on Covid nasal swab test

A Covid test that can provide a result in 12 minutes will be made available at high street pharmacy Boots.

The nasal swab test, which will cost £120, will be available in selected stores in the UK to people who are not showing symptoms.
The company says the aim is to offer customers peace of mind.

Anyone in the UK who thinks they have symptoms should stay at home and contact the NHS to book a Covid test in the usual way.

The technology has been developed by LumiraDx, which has also struck a deal to provide supplies to the NHS in Scotland.
Trials suggest it is accurate enough to identify cases, although, like any Covid test, there are some false results meaning they are not 100% reliable.

The Lumira tests, due to lauch at 50 Boots stores in November, take minutes to give a result, analysing a nose swab sample on the spot, via a small, portable machine.

Anyone who tests positive should then isolate to avoid spreading the infection to others.