Lords urge government to prepare now to try to avert winter COVID-19 spike

This includes recommendations for more testing in high-risk environments and high-exposure occupations.

Lord Patel, Committee Chair, has written to the Prime Minister highlighting evidence heard from top medical and scientific advisors that ‘it will be vital to suppress levels of infection of the virus to as low as possible before the winter’.

The Committee finds that not enough is being done to reduce infection levels before October, especially in England, and states that the government should set a target for the levels of infection it aims to be at by October.

The letter also expresses concerns over-stretching the NHS and the Test and Trace system beyond capacity if preparations and testing are not geared up now.

And yet the Committee heard that 'less than half the population in England are aware that they are eligible for a test'.

The Committee finds that the government may be underestimating testing requirements and that previous suggestions from the PM that 500,000 tests being available each day by the end of October is still not enough.