Residents and workers in the city will be tested with PCR, new lateral flow, and LAMP tests as the country faces a wave of new coronaviruses cases and a lockdown.
Laboratories at University College London, Imperial College London, Queen Mary University of London, and King's College London will all contribute to the effort.
The new "moonshot" plan, as the government refers to it, will be based on using rapid testing of nasal swabs and saliva using platforms with a turnaround time of 20 to 90 minutes.
IVDs in the future will require certification in England, Scotland, and Wales, while companies will still be able to sell tests in Northern Ireland under existing EU regulations.
About 3.4 million people, or 6 percent of the population in England, was likely infected by SARS-CoV-2 by July 13. People of color had higher rates of infection.
The firms supporting the new lab include Thermo Fisher Scientific, Canon Medical, and Siemens Healthineers, all of which will contribute their know-how and technologies to the effort.
