Scientists at the University of Birmingham said on Tuesday that they had developed a new COVID-19 test capable of delivering results in less than five minutes.

The new test simplifies the testing method to a single step and uses an alternative amplification method called Exponential Amplification Reaction (EXPAR), said the university.

The new test can reduce testing time from 30 minutes to less than five and deliver accurate results, local media reported.

It can be performed using standard laboratory equipment, compared to Polymerase Chain Reaction (PCR) tests, which require higher temperatures to separate out strands of DNA as part of the amplification process, according to the university.

It came as England enters a national lockdown from Tuesday, the third of its kind since the coronavirus pandemic began in Britain.

Scotland also enters a new lockdown from midnight on Monday, as well as a shutdown of schools until February 1, 2021.

To bring life back to normal, countries such as Britain, China, Germany, Russia and the U.S. have been racing against time to develop coronavirus vaccines.