New Year scramble to meet test demand
BORIS Johnson’s Government is scrambling to secure supplies of Covid-19 tests as the Prime Minister urged people to get swabbed before enjoying New Year celebrations.
Ministers acknowledged a worldwide supply issue is hitting the UK as people again struggled to get tests through pharmacies or delivered to their home.
Health Secretary Sajid Javid set out the issues in a call with a Tory MP, acknowledging there is not a quick fix to a problem caused by global demand.
Leyla Hannbeck, chief executive of the Association of Independent Multiple Pharmacies, has said patients are often unable to find Covid-19 tests in chemists because of “patchy” and “inconsistent” supplies.
The Government website showed no PCR tests were available for home delivery – even for essential workers – in England or Northern Ireland, with “very few” in Scotland, while Wales had availability only in some regions.
Home delivery slots for lateral flow tests were also unavailable yesterday afternoon.
In Scotland, First Minister Nicola Sturgeon said testing will be prioritised for essential workers as sampling processing capacity is “under pressure”.
Tory MP Sir Roger Gale told the PA news agency that Mr Javid had admitted there is a problem with supplies – previously ministers and officials had insisted they had sufficient stocks but the problems were in delivering them to people’s homes or pharmacies.
The North Thanet MP said: “Saj was very honest with me, he said, ‘look, there isn’t a quick fix.’”
The Government has encouraged regular testing as a way of keeping England’s economy open while the devolved administrations have closed nightclubs and taken other steps to limit social contact.
Tests are also being used to replace selfisolation for contacts of confirmed Covid-19 cases, while people returning to work following the Christmas break has also added to demand.
Sir Roger said “we have created the demand in England which we now can’t satisfy” as a result.
He added: “The Prime Minister has now found himself caught between the Covid Recovery Group and supporters and the scientists.
“We are now facing the situation where No 10 is saying ‘go and get tested’ and the Department of Health is saying ‘we haven’t got the tests, we can’t do it.’”
He said Mr Javid is “busting a gut” to get supplies “but we’re competing with a global market”.
During a visit to a vaccination centre in Milton Keynes on Wednesday, Mr Johnson urged people to get tested before New Year’s Eve festivities.
He told reporters: “Everybody should enjoy New Year but in a cautious and sensible way – take a test, ventilation, think about others but, above all, get a booster.”
Shadow health secretary Wes Streeting said: “The failure to make enough tests available weeks after they became a requirement is a total shambles.”