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<p>Defra’s agencies have significant laboratory capacity and expertise that have been
repurposed and provided to NHS Test and Trace.</p><p> </p><p>Defra’s Animal and Plant
Health Agency (APHA) temporarily supplied staff and equipment to the Lighthouse laboratories
and has a contract with the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) to test up
to 2000 samples per day. APHA also has a contractually based involvement in a research
project called <em>Safe & Certain</em> (DHSC-funded project), coordinated by University
of Southampton, which involves direct testing on saliva samples. APHA participated
in Phase 1 of the project (July/August 2020) and is now embarking on Phase 2 involving
testing of up to 60,000 samples over the next month.</p><p> </p><p>The Centre for
Environment, Fisheries and Science (Cefas) provided four key pieces of Polymerase
Chain Reaction testing equipment to the UK’s mass diagnostics facility in Northern
Ireland, and personal protective equipment to NHS facilities in the Dorset region.
Cefas has registered details of its remaining capacity through DHSC’s online portal.</p><p>
</p><p>The Environment Agency has been working with core Defra and the Joint Biosecurity
Centre to trial the use of waste water testing for Covid-19 RNA, to help identify
increases in Covid-19 prevalence at population level and help target testing capacity.</p><p>Fera
Science Ltd provided critical testing equipment to the Lighthouse laboratory in Glasgow.</p>
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