Free coronavirus tests for the public will be launched by the Government tomorrow.

A spokeswoman said polymerase chain reaction — PCR — and antibody tests would be administered by appointment at the Southside drive-through test centre in St David’s.

PCR testing is used to identify coronavirus infection through a nasal swab and antibody testing — available only in conjunction with PCR — helps to detect those who have already had Covid-19, the disease caused by the virus.

The spokeswoman said: “PRC test results enable the Ministry of Health to detect who has an active infection, isolate them and identify those that they have been in contact with.

“The antibody test is to determine the presence of the body’s immune response or antibodies and is administered via a fingerpick blood sample.

“Simply put, this enables the detection of individuals who have had Covid-19 in the past, and who may have not been detected in previous testing regimes.”

The spokesman said the goal of antibody tests was to help understand how widespread the virus was.

David Burt, the Premier, said: “The work of the Bermuda Government Molecular Diagnostics Laboratory under the direction of Carika Weldon has aided Bermuda’s globally recognised leadership position in Covid-19 testing.

“This leadership will be enhanced by the continuance of our aggressive PCR testing and the introduction of antibody testing to determine the reach of this virus in our community.”

Mr Burt added: “Due to their higher risk of exposure, I encourage our essential workers to take advantage of this free testing and have themselves retested.

Tests will be carried out between 2pm and 7pm at the test centre in the car park of the former White’s grocery store.

Appointments can be booked online at https://bdagovcovid.resqwest.com.