1. Statement by the First Minister: Coronavirus (COVID-19)

Part of the debate – in the Senedd at 1:47 pm on 26 August 2020.

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Photo of Mark Drakeford Mark Drakeford Labour 1:47, 26 August 2020

Well, Llywydd, I can assure Mr Price and other Members that the Welsh Government continues to explore all these possibilities. We are involved in experiments here in Wales of a number of antigen tests that may be able to provide results far more quickly than the current range of tests, but to do so in a way that is, as Adam Price said, Llywydd, comparable in accuracy to the testing regime we currently have. 

Adam Price is right, Llywydd, to point to the fact that there are many different possibilities emerging in this space. It's an important judgment for Government as to which one to endorse and not to spend a lot of money on a possibility that is rapidly overtaken by something that is emerging elsewhere, which is why I agree with what Mr Price said about making sure that we continue to scan all these different possibilities. Whichever one becomes, in the end, the most promising, it will be very important that it has proper regulatory approval here in the United Kingdom, so that citizens can be confident that the test they are being asked to use has been authentically scrutinised, that its safety is secure, that the results it provides can be relied upon and, of course, from a Welsh economy perspective, when we're in that position and able to test people quickly, accurately and safely, then it will undoubtedly add to the speed at which the economy can be reopened.