United Kingdom approves use of COVID-19 self-test kit

The United Kingdom has approved the exceptional use of the National Health Service test and trace COVID-19 self-test kit to detect asymptomatic coronavirus cases, as it mulls a stricter lockdown to stem the spread of a highly infectious variant of the virus.

The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) said that the kit uses an antigen lateral flow test (antigen LFT), which can give a result in 30 minutes.