Demand for Covid tests is at up to four times UK capacity, says Harding

[Northerner]

Dido Harding, the head of the NHS test-and-trace programme and the newly created National Institute for Health Protection, has told parliament’s science and technology committee that demand for coronavirus tests across the UK is three to four times higher than capacity.

The total capacity is now 242,817 tests: 82,817 in the NHS and Public Health England (known as pillar 1) and 160,000 in the community (pillar 2). The numbers have not been published since 10 September, but Harding said they would now be published every day.

She said a quarter of those seeking tests did not have symptoms. Surveys outside the testing centres found that 27% of people turning up did not have symptoms.

Harding said there was “significantly more demand than capacity”. Officials were estimating demand from the number of people calling 119 and the number of visitors to the website, she told MPs. They are “three to four times the number of tests we currently have available, but there will be some double counting in that”.

Covid test demand in England at up to four times capacity, says Harding

NHS test and trace chief tells MPs test figures will now be published every day

www.theguardian.com

 

[Bruce Stephens]

She said a quarter of those seeking tests did not have symptoms. Surveys outside the testing centres found that 27% of people turning up did not have symptoms.

I thought that bit of the session could have had a bit more depth. There are cases where you're allowed to be tested without symptoms: staff in care homes, etc., but also (presumably significantly in some areas) if you're asked to have a test by local public health professionals.

(But obviously the whole thing's stupid. This is part of what GPs and other healthcare professionals do: determine what tests are appropriate for their patients. The example given of kitchen staff wanting tests because one of them was infected seems like exactly the kinds of people that public health professionals would very much want tested. It all looks more and more like the government really doesn't like experts.)

 

[trophywench]

No that's absolutely incorrect @Bruce Stephens - experts are 100% fine and dandy as long as they ONLY say what we want them to say.

Difficulties only arise when they won't play by the rules we impose on them and continue to follow their training and the fact that 99.9% of them can deliver info in coherent sentences.