"Dreadful" that Britain can't get more people tested for COVID-19 - minister

It is dreadful that more Britons are not getting tested for COVID-19, Northern Ireland Secretary Brandon Lewis said on Thursday, saying the authorities were putting a phenomenal effort into meeting targets. Britain has pledged to carry out 100,000 COVID-19 tests a day by the end of the month. But fewer than 23,000 people were tested in the latest daily figures published on Wednesday.

"I think it's dreadful we can't get more people tested. That's why ... we do upscale the ability for people to access these tests," Lewis told ITV. "We are determined to deal with this," he added, saying that there had been a phenomenal effort to increase testing for the novel coronavirus quickly.