Coronavirus 'lighthouse lab' opens in Loughborough

A "lighthouse lab" with the capacity to process 50,000 coronavirus tests every day has opened in the East Midlands.

The laboratory in Loughborough, Leicestershire, will receive samples from drive-through centres, social care and
home kits.

PerkinElmer has been chosen by the government to run the facility, which is the sixth of its kind to open.

Hopes of a coronavirus vaccine mean it is only contracted until the end of March.

Lighthouse laboratories are already operating in Milton Keynes, Cheshire, Glasgow, Cambridge and Newport.

The Loughborough facility is expecting to receive about 3,000 coronavirus test samples on its first day.

Miles Burrows, managing director of PerkinElmer, said this will slowly increase throughout December until it reaches
its 50,000 a day projection.

Mr Burrows said the lab represented, "a significant additional capacity".

"Essentially, the more capacity in the network, the greater the number of people can be tested and the faster
the results will get back to those people," he added.

The laboratory will be open 24 hours a day and will employ 430 staff.

Fatima Omar, a biomedical scientist at the site, said the work would be "challenging" but interesting.

Mike Sandys, director of public health for Leicestershire County Council, said he welcomed the lab's arrival.

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