Frontline healthcare workers in Wales to get coronavirus testing

Wales' health minister has announced frontline healthcare workers will get testing for coronavirus.

Vaughan Gething AM said the loss of essential workers for seven or fourteen days if they were to self-isolate would be "detrimental" to healthcare services.

Providing a negative test would allow them to return to work, he added.

It comes as nearly 900,000 people around the UK have signed a petition calling for frontline NHS staff to be prioritised for coronavirus testing.

Until now testing has only been carried out in hospitals. Credit: PA Images

Testing has previously only been taking place in hospitals, meaning the number of cases testing positive daily are "likely to be higher".

There were 149 confirmed cases of coronavirus in Wales as of Wednesday morning.

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