The first rapid Covid-19 tests to be made in the 海角视频 have been rolled out to universities across England.
The British-made lateral flow tests have been made by Derby-based SureScreen Diagnostics.
SureScreen has been at the frontline in the fight against Covid-19 since the virus emerged and has created more than 370 new jobs.
The tests provide a result in less than 15 minutes and are the first British ones to be validated in a laboratory by Public Health England (PHE).
The rollout of the rapid tests began in universities in August, and is set to help protect thousands of students as the new term approaches.
In preparation for their launch, SureScreen tests have been used in certain wider public sector supervised settings in recent months, including prisons and daily contact testing settings.
The company has the capacity to manufacture approximately 7 million tests per week, with plans to increase this to 14 million per week by the end of December.
SureScreen recently said it hopes to create 1,000 new jobs at a new East Midlands operation on the Sherwood Business Park, near junction 27 of the M1, in Notts, as manufacturing is scaled up.
The tests 鈥 which use a device a bit like a pregnancy test and are aimed at people with no symptoms 鈥 are also exported to 53 countries around the world.
People who test positive using the kits are encouraged to self-isolate and get a lab test to confirm infection.
SureScreen鈥檚 headquarters are on the Prime Enterprise Park, Derby.
Health Secretary Sajid Javid said: 鈥淲hether it鈥檚 an F1 company developing ventilators for hospitals, our academics developing lifesaving vaccines or a pioneering manufacturer producing lateral flow tests, British innovation and ingenuity has been everywhere you look during this pandemic.
鈥淥ur testing programme has already helped us reclaim many of our lost freedoms and it will continue to be at the heart of our efforts, through the Winter Plan, to keep this disease at bay in the colder months to come.鈥
He said SureScreen tests, which have been partly assembled by Omega Diagnostics in Alva in Scotland, will form an essential part of the government鈥檚 rapid testing programme which has made free LFDs available to everyone in the 海角视频.
鈥淭he government confirmed the extension of free testing as part of the Winter Plan outlined by the Prime Minister last week.
Around one in three people with Covid-19 do not experience any symptoms and may be spreading the virus unwittingly.
Rapid testing detects cases quickly, meaning positive cases can isolate immediately.
A negative lateral flow test taken within the previous 48 hours can be used as certification for the NHS Covid Pass app, along with full vaccination or a negative PCR test.
A Government spokesman said: 鈥淎ll LFDs used in the national testing programme have undergone rigorous clinical evaluation and are a vital tool in helping to identify cases of COVID-19, including variants of concern.
鈥淭he tests have been proven effective at detecting high viral loads and registering an appropriate positive result. This means they are able to identify people who are likely to be the most infectious.鈥
