Some 400 jobs are to be created at a new Covid-19 test lab in north Leicestershire.
The joint public/private sector facility will be the 海角视频鈥檚 seventh 鈥淟ighthouse Lab鈥 鈥 created to supplement existing NHS labs working on the government鈥檚 National Testing Programme.
It comes as the number of confirmed cases of Covid-19 continue to rise after dropping substantially in the summer.
On Thursday, the government said there had been 1,735 newly-confirmed cases 鈥 wit the seven day average standing at 1,435.
The Office for National Statistics estimated that 1 in 1,900 people in England had coronavirus in the week ending 20 August 鈥 compared to 1 in 2,200 the previous week.
The new lab is being opened at the Charnwood Campus in Loughborough 鈥 a former research and development base for Astra Zeneca and now part of an Enterprise Zone specialising in science and technology.
It should be able to process 50,000 tests a day by the end of the year from care homes, Covid-19 testing centres and home testing kits.
It will be operated by global diagnostics company PerkinElmer in partnership with the Department of Health and Social Care.
A spokeswoman for the Charnwood Campus said the work will be 鈥減rocessed by a skilled workforce from across the scientific community鈥.
There are similar sites in Milton Keynes, Alderley Park, Cambridge, Glasgow in Scotland, Newport in Wales and Antrim in Northern Ireland 鈥 part of the Lighthouse Lab network established to increase the number of Covid-19 tests that can be processed each day.
Charnwood Campus commercial director Gosia Khrais said: 鈥淲e expressed our readiness to join the national effort to fight the pandemic very early on, and worked closely with the Department of Health and Social Care to build a robust business case for close collaboration between Charnwood Campus and PerkinElmer.
鈥淐harnwood is providing the building and facility management services, and PerkinElmer recruiting a skilled workforce and performing the testing.
鈥淭he proposal has been supported by Charnwood Borough Council which helped promote the campus site and Loughborough as the best location for the new Lab.
鈥淭he teams deployed to lead these projects are highly qualified experts focused on delivering the best outcomes.
鈥淭he Charnwood Lighthouse Lab will significantly accelerate current Covid-19 testing capacity, helping to control the spread of the virus and prevent spikes in the number of cases.
鈥淭he successful delivery of the project will help protect lives, the NHS and the economy by allowing us to test and confirm or rule out Covid quickly and on a mass scale.
鈥淧eople with a negative test result will be able to return to work without the need to self-isolate.
鈥淭esting also allows us to quickly identify and isolate those with a positive test result, helping to contain the spread of the virus.
鈥淚 am pleased that Charnwood Campus鈥 world-class facility will be part of the largest network of diagnostic testing facilities in British history, and that Loughborough will play a key role in scaling up the 海角视频鈥檚 testing capacity and helping to fight against the virus.鈥
Charnwood Borough Council leader Coun Jonathan Morgan said the jobs being created would be crucial to supporting the national testing effort, as well as 鈥減roviding a boost to the local and regional economy in these challenging times鈥.
He said: 鈥淚 am pleased Charnwood can play such an important role in tackling the pandemic.
鈥淭he Lighthouse Lab will also help to grow the life sciences and pharmaceutical sectors in the region, providing opportunities to train and develop life science professionals and building on the East Midlands鈥 and Loughborough鈥檚 reputation for outstanding pharmaceutical research and development.鈥欌
Charnwood Campus is the first and only Life Sciences Opportunity Zone in the 海角视频 and part of the Loughborough and Leicester Science and Innovation Enterprise Zone.
The new lab will be part of what will be the biggest network of diagnostic testing facilities in British history.
