The hunt for a “game-changing” antibody test may be over after a version backed by the UK Government passed its first major trials on July 17 with flying colours.

The Telegraph has revealed that ministers are drawing up plans to distribute millions of free pregnancy-style tests after they were shown to be 98.6 per cent accurate in secret human trials held last month.

An antibody test can detect if a person has had coronavirus before and has since recovered. The test, carried out by a device that pricks your finger for blood, works this out by testing your blood for coronavirus antibodies to see if they have already beaten the virus and gained some immunity to it.

The coronavirus swab test that the Government currently uses can only tell whether a person has the virus, not if they have had it and recovered.

The fingerprick test, designed for use at home, can tell within 20 minutes whether a person has ever been exposed to coronavirus.

Until now, the only antibody tests approved in the UK have involved blood samples sent to laboratories for analysis, which can take days.