It comes after the spread of a new Covid variant that has been dubbed 'Pirola'.
BA.2.86, since nicknamed Pirola, recently caught the attention of scientists due to the large number of mutations that the variant had. There are now three confirmed cases in the UK, according to the latest information from the Government, while reports also suggest an a fourth suspected case in Scotland.
Last week, an early roll-out of flu and Covid vaccines was announced by the UKHSA amid concern for the new variant. Now, the Guardian reports that testing will be ramped up ahead of the winter, following the UK being accused by some experts of letting its guard down on monitoring Covid infections. Prof Steven Riley, the director general of data, analytics and surveillance at the UKHSA, said: “Planned scaling up of testing and community surveillance for the winter season, when health pressures usually rise, is in progress and UKHSA will make a further announcement regarding community surveillance plans for this winter shortly. Protecting the public from Covid-19 remains one of our top priorities.
"We continue to monitor the threat posed by Covid-19 through our range of surveillance systems and genomics capabilities, which report on infection rates, hospitalisations and the risks posed by new variants.’’ The NHS will be on alert for another busy winter this year, with hospitals and the ambulance service placed under massive strain 12 months ago.