TESTING TIMES
Massive queues at DIY stores as lockdown shoppers venture out while Covid- 19 drive- thru centres remain eerily quiet
Only a trickle of people have been nose and throat swabbed at a coronavirus drive- thru.
There’s growing alarm at snaking queues at re- opened shops, while a testing station in Prestwick and an Ayr assessment centre remain GHOST ZONES.
Testing is seen as the golden key to get Ayrshire out of lockdown, and Brian Whittle MSP said:” The lack of numbers attending is a worry.”
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Only a trickle of people have been swabbed for coronavirus at South Ayrshire’s drive- through centre.
Testing is seen as critical to getting Ayrshire back in the saddle.
But sources say few individuals had been given the throat and nose probe at the Prestwick Airport site by the weekend.
This week a Covid- 19 assessment centre at the Ailsa Hospital in Ayr looked completely deserted.
Our insider said only three people with symptoms had been sent to the centre, set up by NHS Ayrshire on April 18.
By stark contrast DIY enthusiasts joined a giant queue at B& Q in Ayr on Monday as the store fully opened.
And our source said: “It seems the world has gone upside down. The big queues should be at the testing sites.”
At Prestwick Airport the entire main terminal car park has been zoned out by the military.
But there has been no queue and only the odd car driving in on Monday, marshalled by half a dozen army staffers.
Cyclist Des Broadley passed the airport on Thursday and Friday. He said: “All zoned off, troops standing around, no cars and no testing being carried out. “Hope it is in full operation soon.” Now questions are being asked about why it is a ghost zone when testing is being regarded as the golden key to opening lockdown.
Tory MSP Brian Whittle was knocked for six by coronavirus at the start of the outbreak but managed to recover.
The South of Scotland MSP said: “It is extremely important that essential workers and others with symptoms have access to testing and as such it is good that there are testing sites at Prestwick Airport and an assessment site at Ailsa Hospital.
“However, the lack of numbers attending is a worry because there are certainly many more who would access the test if it were possible to do so.
“I have asked the Scottish Government how it is promoting the availability of the tests to key workers. Having availability of the test will only work if that availability is utilised.
“I have seen a marked increase in the numbers of people out and about, some certainly not practising social distancing, and would just like to highlight how incredibly important it is not to beak with protocol at this stage.
“To do so risks the NHS, lives and also an extended lockdown. The only way to beat this virus is to prevent its spread.”
Last week the mobile centres joined the main Ayrshire test unit set up outside Crosshouse Hospital on March 9.
By Monday a total of 818 Ayrshire people were recorded positive and 159 dead.
The Scottish Government has lab capacity for 8350 tests a day and First Minister Nicola Sturgeon said it needs to increase to 15,500.
Over- 65s with symptoms will now be able to request a test.
And people of all ages who need to work but cannot do so from home will also be able to book in for a test if they show symptoms.
The households of both groups will also now be eligible.
The special site zoned off in the grounds of Ailsa Hospital looked abandoned on Monday, with a bollard blocking the lane.
Nobody was manning the tent and an insider said: “Folk here cannot understand what is going on.
“I have been involved in seeing one person but hear there have only been three.”
When it opened Dr Crawford McGuffie, Ayrshire medical director, said: “The team have worked incredibly hard within a short timescale to get this second assessment centre ready to receive patients.
“The centre at the Ailsa Campus in Ayr will provide greater access for people with worsening Covid- 19 symptoms for enhanced medical assessment and care.”
B& Q at Heathfield in Ayr was swamped by people desperate for DIY supplies.
One shopper Ayr said: “The shop is now open to all from 8am- 5pm and it was mobbed.
“My trip was non- essential, as I am sure it is for almost everybody in the queue.
“It is card only payment and the tills are screened but it didn’t feel right to be there.”
Other businesses opening are attracting crowds, rather than encouraging people to just go out for essential purposes.
The South Beach Kiosk in Troon opened to sell coffee and cones, luring a queue of customers.
NHS Ayrshire confirmed no actual swabs were being taken at the Ailsa and said the testing at Prestwick Airport was not operated by them, and questions should be sent to the Scottish government.
However, NHS Ayrshire was unable to find out how many assessments had taken place at Ailsa Hospital.
On Monday the Scottish Government was directly asked to provide information on the number of tests at Prestwick, whether it was a 24- hour facility and what was the capacity of the operation.
On Tuesday they said it was nothing to do with them, but the UK government.