World-beating test and trace system!

My son, who has just returned to Uni, has been in contact with 3 people who have tested positively for Covid-19. We have been investigating the availability of tests as he has no transport but home tests aren't available. Although it is only a 25 mile round trip to a testing station, it might as well be 10 times that if you haven't got transport. Within his household of 6, he and one other are self isolating in their rooms but I suspect that it is probably too late for the rest of the household because it took a couple of days before he found out somebody had symptoms. However, without his flatmates helping out with his shopping, my son has little food until he can get a delivery. So now you have 4 people who have been potentially exposed to the virus mixing with others until they get confirmation that my son and/or his friend are clear providing they aren't one of those who don't get any.

I know of people who have requested a test just out of curiosity. Whole families with none have temp, cough or change in taste/smell. There are people abusing the system. Very difficult to gauge if children have symptoms or another type of virus/bug especially with schools back and the usual coughs and colds no doubt around. Don't be naive, there is abuse going on when there is no charge.

It took my son 10 days and 3 tests to finally get the negative result he needed so he could get back to work. The first test came back unclear, he then managed to get a postal test which he sent back the same day but it must have got lost in the post cause he never heard back. He booked another test yesterday which they had to do twice on site (they said the first one wouldn't have been any good because there was too much snot on it (sorry folks)....
He too was initially offered tests hundreds of miles away but had to update the web page all day long til local ones were loaded on the system.

My GGD aged 6 had a temperature and was sick. Her mother managed to get postal test meanwhile her boys were taken out of school and whole family had to isolate. Got results four days later. negative.

I agree with Nannapat, there will be a lot of anxiety and missed school/work over non-Covid illnesses as the year progresses.
Also, I understand that at least one university lab has offered to process Covid tests but no one in authority has engaged with them. I wonder what excuse the government have for that? Oh! I know, it’s not a private company run by a relative or mate at a huge profit.

Can someone tell me where the government are getting their figures for Covid infections when hardly anyone is able to do a test?

On Sunday morning I took my grandson to the Exeter Park and Ride to catch a bus to the train station for his trip to London. As soon as I drove into the car park we saw 10 men in yellow jackets there. One came running up to us and started to direct us to another area.
It was a covid testing centre. As we were too early for the bus we waited there and saw only one or two cars enter for the test. Hardly anyone in 15 minutes. Probably had not been advertised.

The testing situation is now a complete shambles. No one should be making these ridiculously long trips to get a test. One would have thought that the need for extra testing capacity, once schools went back, could easily have been foreseen!
I foresee with dread, a winter of children being sent home, with schools insisting on a negative test result before they can return, when the vast majority of symptoms will in fact be the common cold. I do sympathise with schools: they will be damned if they appear to be too cautious and damned if they don't.

Our local test center was virtually without clients on Saturday morning. I don't know what that means, except we are still low on infection rates. Of course that's of no help to anyone needing a test elsewhere.

We were Negative anyway!

Not everyone gets extra ones, theres 3 of us, only 2 were ill,so only asked for 2 tests!

It certainly seems easier than a 4hour drive to do one!- if theres none available online, says you can go back on later& try then.

If you click 'have no access to car' or what ever it is, you CAN get one sent in post, takes maybe 2days to arrive, you do it yourself, which provided you do it properly then takes up to 3days to get result(ours 4 as it returned on a friday)-had to put in a priority post box, which luckily for us is our local one though.

Is it because some labs now have lack of basic equipment for testing? Also I think one lab was understaffed because the university and academic people had left to return to their other jobs. We can only guess because there is distinct lack of honesty by government. They obviously don’t want to appear incompetent.

Sunday both 3 out of 5 of the staff that work for my husbund have children who have spiked temps and developed coughs. Eventually they got appointments for testing for today. They have 1 member of staff left - my husband and his partner are both over 65 and worked throughout the pandemic as they are nhs dentists. So they are nursing for each other trying to provide a service and support their staff who in at least one is the only salary supporting the family due to redundancy of her partner. By the time they get the results it will be Thursday at the earliest. So test only tells you that at this point don't have the virus. However next Sunday it could all start again.

chicken

A friend has just rung me to ask if I've received a letter from the Govt. (I haven't) saying that she will receive a Covid test by post which she has to use, return and then answer a questionnaire. This must be a random sampling as she is perfectly well and has never asked for a Covid test. It seems daft to be doing this when there are so many sick people crying out to be tested.

This will likely part of the nhs / Imperial College random sample testing study (I've done one) to enable better predicting of areas where Covid-19 is growing and so (in theory at least!), be better prepared.

There is no end to their incompetence. We cannot all be chauffeur-driven 100 + miles away.

I don't think we have the same problems here in Scotland. But every child has had usual cold symptoms since our schools went back 4 weeks ago

DGS age 12 and DD (not his mum) both had same symptoms high temperature 102 nausea sore throat dry cough last Friday. DGS has severe asthma hospitalised on oxygen during flare ups and DD is a key worker. Both got appointments 32 miles round trip for DGS and 70 miles round trip for DD who had to drive with high temperature as she's a single parent. Both tests took 48 hours for results and both Negative. Both better now.
A lot of viruses around not all are covid19, but anyone vulnerable or keyworkers should be high priority imo. This week it's obviously much worse as testing labs are overloaded.

A friend has just rung me to ask if I've received a letter from the Govt. (I haven't) saying that she will receive a Covid test by post which she has to use, return and then answer a questionnaire. This must be a random sampling as she is perfectly well and has never asked for a Covid test. It seems daft to be doing this when there are so many sick people crying out to be tested.

I wonder if people are only being directed to private and not public test centres? I wouldn’t put anything past this shambles of a government!

If I need a test it will have to be via public transport unless they can send me one as I rarely have access to car. Driving with a fever is not to be recommended.

It’s a farce. What gross incompetence. No wonder our young people are taking plenty of no notice as are some older folk. It makes a mockery of all our caring staff be they NHS or Carers.

Makes me shudder at what else is in store for our poor country.

That is what I so hate ,, this Government lying,, no way to say that politely,, that is how bad their lying is.

Where I live in Blackburn we have a few testing places and one very near to where I live. This has about 15 staff operating it and it is never busy. Sometimes I go past and there's no-one there at all waiting for a test. It's both a walk-in and drive in but you still need an appointment. I don't understand why this centre is so underused. It's perfectly placed for the town centre and bus station. Whether people make appointments but then don't attend for them. It just seems so crazy that people have to travel miles for tests when there's a centre here not being used very much.

Hancock must be one of the most incompetent of the useless cabinet ministers we currently have. He makes Jeremy Hunt look like a model of efficiency!