Coronavirus: Jobs created at Welsh Lighthouse testing lab

More than 200 jobs will be created at a coronavirus testing lab in Newport.

The Lighthouse Lab facility at Imperial Park is expected to be operational by the end of August, testing samples from across Wales and England to increase UK capacity.

The site was already earmarked for a £5m Public Health Wales laboratory which will used by NHS Wales when no longer required for testing.

It will be open seven days a week, carrying out hundreds of tests a day.

It will be the fifth major testing lab set up following sites in Milton Keynes, Alderley Park in Cheshire, Cambridge and Glasgow.

Wales' Economy Minister Ken Skates said: "This recruitment campaign will see 200 important jobs being created here in Wales which will be crucial in supporting our overall testing strategy and providing a boost to the Welsh economy at a very difficult time."

Cari-Anne Quinn, chief of Life Sciences Hub Wales which is funding the lab in partnership with the Welsh Government, added: "This project will enhance and grow the sector in Wales, providing an opportunity to develop and train life science professionals for the future."