My daughter has managed to get a couple of these free testing packs for her husband, who has been working full time right through the pandemic, and the other for my grandson who is at college. She wants to make sure they are free from the virus as she can't risk catching it as she will have many hospital appointments coming up and doesn't want to risk further worries.

Foxy, I hope everything goes well for your daughter on Friday, and she has speedy recovery.

Most positive rapid coronavirus tests taken since 8 March appear to have returned a correct result, according to data seen by the BBC. Analysis of data from Public Health England shows 82% sent off for a confirmatory PCR test returned the same positive result.

"This suggests that people who test positive using a lateral flow device should definitely take that result seriously, and isolate while waiting for a follow-up PCR test," said Prof Oliver Johnson, director of the institute for statistical science at the University of Bristol. "The fact that a high proportion of these rapid tests have been confirmed by the slower PCR method means that they can be a valuable tool in controlling the pandemic."

New data show 26,144,449 lateral flow results were recorded by Public Health England in the four weeks from 8 March to 4 April. The vast majority - some 99.88% - were negative for coronavirus, leaving another 30,904 cases where a positive result was found. Just over half of those were sent off to a laboratory for a follow-up PCR test, which are far slower to process but can detect much lower levels of virus in the sample, although a positive result doesn't always mean someone is capable of passing the virus on to others.

Of those, 3,034 - or 18% - came back negative, suggesting the individual concerned and their household had been self-isolating for no reason. Under the current rules, a negative re-test would mean their quarantine period would be considered over immediately. But the other 13,918 - or 82% - returned the same positive result, indicating that the original test was accurate and they did have the virus.