World-beating test and trace system!

There is a testing centre at the bottom of the road in which my daughter lives. Nearly always empty. However, when her school said she needed a negative test in order to be permitted to return to school (She had a cough and sore throat), it took her and her husband (they took turns to stay one line) nearly thirty hours to get a test - not there close by, but requiring an hours drive.
She did ask in there, but was told they were not permitted to test anyone who did not have an appointment, even though for most of the time they were standing around doing nothing.
NO postal tests were available at all.
As has been said, it it not the most pleasant of tests, and definitely not something that people wold wish to have if they have no symptoms and have not been in contact with anyone who has had it.
Is the comment about them 'beking abused, because they are free' preparing us to be charged for these?

The amount of travelling involved for some people is ridiculous. However, there are far too many people looking for tests when they're not really needed. Working in a school, I've seen how many children have been sent for tests when there really is no need. A runny nose or sickness is not a reason to need a test. Most parents surely know how their child reacts to a common cold, so unless they are completely different, it's just a waste of time. Two of my grandchildren always have a touch of croup when the weather starts to change as it did last week. They had a couple of days with a cough, which is normal for them, so testing wasn't needed.

Helenlouise, I agree that with the on-set of the winter colds and coughs season, there are many,normal conditions, which have symptoms like cough, sore throat, even loss of smell.

However, schools are so scared of actually missing a real case, that they are just insisting on anyone pupil or staff, who have any of these conditions get tested.

My daughter was 99% that her cough & sore throat, was just that, but she was not permitted to return to work until she got a negative test - which she now has.

As winter progresses, this is going to happen time and time again. Every school needs to have testing facilities for their staff and pupils if they have any real hope of staying open and providing proper education.

This might help when trying to book a test on line. Apparently the appointments get loaded on at 8pm for tomorrow morning slots and 10am for the same day afternoon slots. You have to keep refreshing your browser as the appointments come up.

DS said the test wasn't very pleasant involving a cotton bud stuck far enough up to 'tickle his brain' as he put it. It must be horrible for small children to have that.

Shambles from an incompetent government who give jobs to their friends. Can't understand why we don't have the Dr's surgeries as testing centres, you then put in the extra staff at these points and you go to your local surgery for testing.

This is due to the fact most cases are the younger generation well at the moment anyway!

And where is Dido Harding, the minister responsible for organising our “world beating” test track and trace system? Disappeared!!! How could she be tasked with organising this given her disasterous history at TalkTalk? One could predict it would be a catastrophe.
Show your face Dame Dido!!!!

I understand that the story about people shortage in labs is false news. Again the government has to blame someone else i for the abject failure of the Serco test and Trace. Honesty is desperately lacking in everything they say.
I don't think I have heard so many of my friends say how despondent they feel at this present time , absolutely fed up with an apology for a government.

Barmyoldbat my DS was tested at his local surgery. He was sure it would be difficult to get a test organised and was pleasantly surprised to be allocated a test at his own local surgery. It's not all bad out there!

Helenlouise3

The amount of travelling involved for some people is ridiculous. However, there are far too many people looking for tests when they're not really needed. Working in a school, I've seen how many children have been sent for tests when there really is no need. A runny nose or sickness is not a reason to need a test. Most parents surely know how their child reacts to a common cold, so unless they are completely different, it's just a waste of time. Two of my grandchildren always have a touch of croup when the weather starts to change as it did last week. They had a couple of days with a cough, which is normal for them, so testing wasn't needed.

As you work in a school, you must know that parental judgement and skills are sometimes sadly lacking. Some parents keep their children off school for the slightest sniffle, but there others who send their children with quite severe symptoms when they are infectious. I'm never sure whether think it will toughen them up or whether it's more convenient to send sick children to school.

On our local radio station today we were told that our local testing station was underused yet people have been sent from here (East Anglia) to as far away as Wales! Madness.

There was a "pop up" testing station in a local town, but that was organised by the local health authority rather than Serco Test and Trace. It was in response to an outbreak in a local school, where 8 staff tested positive and I think it's closed now.

The schools are following instructions from the government re children being sent home if they show COVID symptoms ( cough/temperature/loss of taste/smell) They are not making it up themselves

Apparently, the symptoms can be slightly different in children. They are less likely to lose their sense of taste and smell, but more likely to have a stomach ache and/or diarrhoea. Another symptom is blue toes.

I would be extremely reluctant to send my child to any school where children weren't sent home if they had symptoms. people have a right to take risks with their own life, but not with other people's.

Dido Harding is to go before a committee of MPs today. First time she has put her head over the parapet for months. As she's paid a fortune to preside over this key element of managing the pandemic it should make an interesting interview. You have to wonder why someone without a scientific background is not managing this area.

As ever Johnson really knows how to pick a winner. In our house, we pronounce her name properly with an ‘l’ for obvious reasons

In HongKong China sent 600 medical staff to help for the free testing , but the opposition councilor and rioter leaders spending the rumoours that China is going to take all the DNA and planning a lot of damages . So at the end only 1.7 million take the test instead 7million. Jealous ? Or be careful what the govtment will do with your DNA?????

Let this be a marker. If Johnson refuses to take advise as he refused in February/March we will see a much worse situation as we struggle through the winter.

“I’m hearing from a well-connected person that government now thinks, in absence of testing, there are 38,000 infections per day. Chris Whitty is advising PM for a two week national lockdown”

Find it strange that PM yesterday stated that a 'pregnancy style Covid test' was not going to available in the foreseeable future, yest Rome Airport are doing just that with a 30 minutes turnaround for results

Don’t know about anyone else but I feel like we are on a driverless bus in this country. A PM who lies to us and seems to have no idea of what is happening and a lot of so called experts who have been put in charge of departments who have no experience in the area and seem totally incompetent. How sad for this country that we now have someone whose only ambition was to push Brexit through and is clueless about how to deal with the pandemic.

Dido H was being quizzed today and more or less said that the surge in demand for tests was unexpected - unexpected!!?? - autumn, schools going back, universities going back, rules about needing tests or not being able to go into work, pubs and cafes having been open for a few weeks....and she did not expect a surge in tests! What planet is she living on?!

Watching some of the news programmes tonight I am not surprised that cases are rising - some of the members of the general public they interviewed seemed to have a bit of a brain deficit! ....sorry, shouldn't say tings like that.

She also admitted that there isn't the capacity to test everybody with symptoms. 50% of tests will be reserved for NHS staff and hospital patients, care workers and care home residents. Some tests will be used for random testing for research purposes. The remaining tests will be used for everybody else, although school staff will be given priority.

She said they weren't doing as many tests as they could because they don't have the laboratory capacity to test the samples.

Government documents reveal that only 81,000 people a day are being tested, despite the claims of 240,000 capacity. Johnson went even further yesterday and claimed there was capacity for over 300,000 tests, but that included antibody tests.

Can anyone explain to me how a curfew of 10pm on pubs etc is going to stop the spread?

Telegraph reporting that the government has come up with a new wheeze for the defunct test and trace system.

Outsource it to Amazon!!

You know that massive company that barely pays any tax to our coffers is now going to get the U.K. tax payer to pay it!

What on earth is wrong with the NHS?