So what's the plan .
- Thread starter bobk
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betweenthelines
Member
- Location
- southwest
Until there's a vaccine, people will only become immune by catching it.
Until most of the population are immune, things can't change-we could still be wearing masks in 5 years time!
Until most of the population are immune, things can't change-we could still be wearing masks in 5 years time!
And probably not washed them either
I have. I don`t entrust my future to the nanny state, unlike the majority.
That is incorrect ,as people are catching it twice
Not sure they are ,
Hindsight
Member
- Location
- Lincolnshire
Health chiefs admit rationing of coronavirus tests
Chris Smyth, Whitehall Editor | Greg Hurst, Social Affairs Editor
Thursday September 03 2020, 5.00pm, The Times
Health
Baroness Harding of Winscombe, who runs NHS Test and Trace, said that demand had increased as testing became “part of our everyday lives”
ANDREW PARSONS/PA
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Coronavirus tests are being rationed in parts of the country because there is not enough capacity, health chiefs have admitted.
Schools have been told not to send pupils with sore throats for tests to preserve lab capacity as MPs complained that testing slots had “completely evaporated” in some areas.
People in areas with low levels of the virus will be told to keep checking for free appointments within 75 miles after officials accepted that it was wrong to ask them to drive hundreds of miles to testing centres with capacity.
Government sources insisted that rationing was only happening at the margins as they concentrated tests on infection hotspots. They argued that Britain was already testing roughly twice as many people per head as Germany or France and promised new labs to double swab-testing capacity to half a million a day by the end of next month.
However, senior doctors warned that a strategy of pulling tests out of low-infection areas was “flawed” because it risked missing the early signs of outbreaks.
The Test and Trace system is also reaching the lowest proportion of contacts since its launch. In the week to August 26, 69 per cent of contacts whose details were provided by confirmed cases were reached and asked to isolate, down from 77 per cent the previous week. Labour branded the results branded “hugely disappointing”.
Confirmed cases are at their highest weekly level since the start of June, with 6,732 positive cases in the week to August 26, the biggest figure since the 8,842 in the week to June 3. However, experts said that much of this is because almost two thirds more tests were being carried out, with the proportion of tests coming back positive staying broadly level in recent weeks at 1.5 per cent.
Although the number of people being tested fell slightly last week to 452,679, this was up two thirds on mid-June after the government began a campaign urging people with symptoms to get tested.
The drive has now become a victim of its own success, with reports of people in Suffolk being told there are no free testing slots nearer than Aberdeen.
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Ian Mearns, Labour MP for Gateshead, told the Commons: “In the last fortnight, our testing capacity has just gone — it has just dried up, completely evaporated. At the latest count we only have enough tests to start in the morning at 8 o’clock and completely run out by 10.”
He said that testing “isn’t just important in those areas which are hotspots, it’s important everywhere — particularly where local communities are seeing an increase in the number of cases”.
Head teachers have been told not to send pupils for coronavirus tests if they have a sore throat, stomach upset or headache to avoid overwhelming the system.
Letters sent to all schools and colleges in England told heads that only children or staff with specific Covid-19 symptoms should book a test to avoid a start-of-term surge similar to that experienced in Scotland when schools returned last month.
Nor should classmates, teachers, support staff or family members request a test unless they display symptoms of a high temperature, a new continuous cough or a loss of their sense of taste or smell or are told to by a clinician, head teachers were told.
A letter from Yvonne Doyle, medical director of Public Health England, and Susan Hopkins, interim chief medical adviser of NHS Test and Trace, said: “It is vital that we learn from the recent Scottish experience, where the return of schools saw a huge increase in demand for tests from people without coronavirus symptoms.
“We want to avoid a similar surge in test demand as England’s schools and colleges return to ensure that we continue to prioritise our testing capacity for those with symptoms and to avoid children, students and their families self-isolating unnecessarily.”
Matt Hancock, the health secretary, acknowledged that tests were being prioritised for hotspot areas such as Greater Manchester.
Although official figures show that testing capacity stands at almost 370,000, it has emerged that about 100,000 of this is for antibody tests, more than 90 per cent of which are not being used. Swab capacity is 249,937, according to figures published for the first time. Although only 175,687 tests were processed today, officials said that slack had to be built into the system to avoid the risk of a backlog of tests expiring before analysis.
Baroness Harding of Winscombe, executive chairwoman of NHS Test and Trace, said: “As the service has become part of our everyday lives, demand for testing has increased. To meet this, we continue our efforts to build and scale testing capacity to reach 500,000 tests per day by the end of October by making use of new tests, new labs and new technology.”
Peter English, of the British Medical Association, said that it was “ludicrous” to ask people ill with coronavirus to drive for three hours and warned: “We understand there is limited testing capacity but the logic of moving so much of it away from areas with low infection rates is flawed as it means the programme is less likely to identify new spikes early, allowing swift action to be taken.”
With ministers talking of a “moonshot” attempt to use mass testing to return to normal life, Dr English said: “The present system is not working. Without getting the basics right, and ensuring people can easily and safely access tests, this goal looks a long way off.”
Paul Hunter, professor of medicine at the University of East Anglia, said: “Rationing in low-risk areas is absolutely not what you want to do because if you want to stop low-risk areas becoming high risk ones you’ve got to spot cases before they become unmanageable.”
Health
Chris Smyth, Whitehall Editor | Greg Hurst, Social Affairs Editor
Thursday September 03 2020, 5.00pm, The Times
Health
Baroness Harding of Winscombe, who runs NHS Test and Trace, said that demand had increased as testing became “part of our everyday lives”
ANDREW PARSONS/PA
Share
https://www.thetimes.co.uk/edition/news/health-chiefs-admit-rationing-of-coronavirus-tests-80gtl7hwg
https://twitter.com/intent/tweet?te...dmit-rationing-of-coronavirus-tests-80gtl7hwg
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https://www.thetimes.co.uk/edition/news/health-chiefs-admit-rationing-of-coronavirus-tests-80gtl7hwg
Save
https://www.thetimes.co.uk/edition/news/health-chiefs-admit-rationing-of-coronavirus-tests-80gtl7hwg
Coronavirus tests are being rationed in parts of the country because there is not enough capacity, health chiefs have admitted.
Schools have been told not to send pupils with sore throats for tests to preserve lab capacity as MPs complained that testing slots had “completely evaporated” in some areas.
People in areas with low levels of the virus will be told to keep checking for free appointments within 75 miles after officials accepted that it was wrong to ask them to drive hundreds of miles to testing centres with capacity.
Government sources insisted that rationing was only happening at the margins as they concentrated tests on infection hotspots. They argued that Britain was already testing roughly twice as many people per head as Germany or France and promised new labs to double swab-testing capacity to half a million a day by the end of next month.
However, senior doctors warned that a strategy of pulling tests out of low-infection areas was “flawed” because it risked missing the early signs of outbreaks.
The Test and Trace system is also reaching the lowest proportion of contacts since its launch. In the week to August 26, 69 per cent of contacts whose details were provided by confirmed cases were reached and asked to isolate, down from 77 per cent the previous week. Labour branded the results branded “hugely disappointing”.
Confirmed cases are at their highest weekly level since the start of June, with 6,732 positive cases in the week to August 26, the biggest figure since the 8,842 in the week to June 3. However, experts said that much of this is because almost two thirds more tests were being carried out, with the proportion of tests coming back positive staying broadly level in recent weeks at 1.5 per cent.
Although the number of people being tested fell slightly last week to 452,679, this was up two thirds on mid-June after the government began a campaign urging people with symptoms to get tested.
The drive has now become a victim of its own success, with reports of people in Suffolk being told there are no free testing slots nearer than Aberdeen.
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Ian Mearns, Labour MP for Gateshead, told the Commons: “In the last fortnight, our testing capacity has just gone — it has just dried up, completely evaporated. At the latest count we only have enough tests to start in the morning at 8 o’clock and completely run out by 10.”
He said that testing “isn’t just important in those areas which are hotspots, it’s important everywhere — particularly where local communities are seeing an increase in the number of cases”.
Head teachers have been told not to send pupils for coronavirus tests if they have a sore throat, stomach upset or headache to avoid overwhelming the system.
Letters sent to all schools and colleges in England told heads that only children or staff with specific Covid-19 symptoms should book a test to avoid a start-of-term surge similar to that experienced in Scotland when schools returned last month.
Nor should classmates, teachers, support staff or family members request a test unless they display symptoms of a high temperature, a new continuous cough or a loss of their sense of taste or smell or are told to by a clinician, head teachers were told.
A letter from Yvonne Doyle, medical director of Public Health England, and Susan Hopkins, interim chief medical adviser of NHS Test and Trace, said: “It is vital that we learn from the recent Scottish experience, where the return of schools saw a huge increase in demand for tests from people without coronavirus symptoms.
“We want to avoid a similar surge in test demand as England’s schools and colleges return to ensure that we continue to prioritise our testing capacity for those with symptoms and to avoid children, students and their families self-isolating unnecessarily.”
Matt Hancock, the health secretary, acknowledged that tests were being prioritised for hotspot areas such as Greater Manchester.
Although official figures show that testing capacity stands at almost 370,000, it has emerged that about 100,000 of this is for antibody tests, more than 90 per cent of which are not being used. Swab capacity is 249,937, according to figures published for the first time. Although only 175,687 tests were processed today, officials said that slack had to be built into the system to avoid the risk of a backlog of tests expiring before analysis.
Baroness Harding of Winscombe, executive chairwoman of NHS Test and Trace, said: “As the service has become part of our everyday lives, demand for testing has increased. To meet this, we continue our efforts to build and scale testing capacity to reach 500,000 tests per day by the end of October by making use of new tests, new labs and new technology.”
Peter English, of the British Medical Association, said that it was “ludicrous” to ask people ill with coronavirus to drive for three hours and warned: “We understand there is limited testing capacity but the logic of moving so much of it away from areas with low infection rates is flawed as it means the programme is less likely to identify new spikes early, allowing swift action to be taken.”
With ministers talking of a “moonshot” attempt to use mass testing to return to normal life, Dr English said: “The present system is not working. Without getting the basics right, and ensuring people can easily and safely access tests, this goal looks a long way off.”
Paul Hunter, professor of medicine at the University of East Anglia, said: “Rationing in low-risk areas is absolutely not what you want to do because if you want to stop low-risk areas becoming high risk ones you’ve got to spot cases before they become unmanageable.”
Health
- Location
- Scottish Highlands
Agreed, there’s anecdotal reports of one person and that’s it. The report hasn’t been peer reviewed and is of questionable credibility.
- Location
- Northern Ireland
Brother in law felt very off colour this week. His son had returned from abroad the previous week and (long story, paternity arrangements) stayed a couple of nights. And so brother in law phoned up the NHS hotline to ask for a test yesterday. He was refused. Told he didn't tick their boxes.
News today said that yesterday there were 800 calls to the NHS line in Northern Ireland, and only 64 qualified for a test. In other words, they simply do not want to know the full numbers. Had to be plenty of missed positives there, which are walking about spreading it.
News today said that yesterday there were 800 calls to the NHS line in Northern Ireland, and only 64 qualified for a test. In other words, they simply do not want to know the full numbers. Had to be plenty of missed positives there, which are walking about spreading it.
Hindsight
Member
- Location
- Lincolnshire
Well a few months ago when the Donald didn't like the numbers (he's a numbers man as we know) said the USA authorities were testing too much and getting to high infection rate. I presume The Dom and Bojo are taking a leaf out of the Don's book.
kiwi pom
Member
- Location
- canterbury NZ
Over here they have 'pop up' test centres in most of the country encouraging people with no symptoms to have a test, as they are trying to find out if there's any in the community that's going unnoticed.
Mrs pom and some of her work mates got one the other day
No cases inside the border, in the south Island for months but we're still at level two because the north had one outbreak. Auntie Cindy wants everyone wearing masks and using a tracing App.
I was chosen for a random test and tested negative. If they are doing random tests but ignoring those with symptoms there can only be one reason and that is massaging the figures.Over here they have 'pop up' test centres in most of the country encouraging people with no symptoms to have a test, as they are trying to find out if there's any in the community that's going unnoticed.
Mrs pom and some of her work mates got one the other day
No cases inside the border, in the south Island for months but we're still at level two because the north had one outbreak. Auntie Cindy wants everyone wearing masks and using a tracing App.
- Location
- Limousin/Charentes toad land
I wonder if France is testing more, most people I know have been offered a test. Myself and Mrs Cz didn’t go as we feel fine and don’t see anybody anyway
kiwi pom
Member
- Location
- canterbury NZ
Don't know what happens there but you can easily get a test here if you have symptoms. Its just that they want to do random tests as well.
texas pete
Member
- Location
- East Mids
It's the only way forward.
Danllan
Member
- Location
- Sir Gar / Carms
Mrs Danllan works in a care home, so gets regular testing, it was weekly but is now fortnightly. They get the results back within 48hrs and has been told (by NHS Wales / GIG Cymru) that once the DIY ones are out, to expect that they'll have twice-weekly tests as routine plus for anyone displaying symptoms - a nice thought.
School for my children started yesterday, one day, then back to 'normal' on Monday - I am unaware if the teachers will be regularly tested, but it seems a rather obvious way to locate infection 'hubs', so we must presume so...
School for my children started yesterday, one day, then back to 'normal' on Monday - I am unaware if the teachers will be regularly tested, but it seems a rather obvious way to locate infection 'hubs', so we must presume so...
- Location
- Scottish Highlands
It's not the case in Scotland.
Danllan
Member
- Location
- Sir Gar / Carms
I'm not one for the conspiratorial view generally, but... this is such an obvious way to track, monitor and, so, control the virus, that not to do it starts bells ringing.
We know kids are major disease vectors and we know that schools are local nodes / hubs or whatever in any given community. It's madness not to test in these places! It seems to me that your First Minister is going to get it in the neck over that, and so should Mr Drakeford if it isn't done here.
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