Question to the Department of Health and Social Care:

To ask the Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, what steps his Department is taking to increase testing for covid-19 for patients recovering from (a) pneumonia and (b) other respiratory infections.

Since the start of the pandemic, we have ensured the following groups were prioritised:

- all patients in critical care for pneumonia, acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) or flu like illness;

- all other patients requiring admission to hospital for pneumonia, ARDS or flu like illness; and

- where an outbreak has occurred in a residential or care setting, for example in long-term care facility or prisons.

Testing for COVID-19 in clinical settings is based on the expertise and judgement of those delivering care. Those patients presenting in hospital with respiratory symptoms such as pneumonia are assessed by a clinician who decides if it is appropriate to test for COVID-19 as part of their care. Those recovering from respiratory conditions in the community should be vigilant and should they experience any of the three main coronavirus symptoms, they should seek a test as soon as possible.