Coronavirus testing made available for everyone aged five and over

Everyone in Wales with coronavirus symptoms will be able to request a test after the new online booking system opened today (Monday, May 18).

Wales has joined a new UK-wide system for ordering home testing kits.

The announcement comes after the chief medical officer for Wales, Dr Frank Atherton, alongside his counterparts in England, Scotland and Northern Ireland, confirmed that the loss of taste and smell has been added to the list of symptoms of Covid-19.

Anyone experiencing these symptoms, or a continuous cough or fever, will be able to apply for a home testing kit using the new UK online portal.

People will also be able to call 119 to order a home test.

For more information or to apply for a test, visit gov.wales/apply-coronavirus-test

However, Welsh health minister Vaughan Gething MS confirmed key workers will continue to be prioritised for testing.

Mr Gething said: “The number of people we can test will increase as we continue to build our capacity.

“In conjunction with a new tracing app, this increase in testing is at the heart of our ‘Test Trace Protect’ strategy, which will help us to further reduce the spread of the virus and gradually ease restrictions on everyday life in Wales.

“The public will be our most important partners in delivering this strategy – we are asking only those people who have symptoms to request a test, to ensure they go to the right people.”

UK Government’s health minister, Matt Hancock MP, announced on Monday (May 18) in the House of Commons that everyone over the age of five in the UK will be eligible for testing.

The move has been agreed by and will be implemented in all four nations of the UK.