Just to add my little contribution...
Have been trying to book a drive through test for 4 days using online system; 'no test sites found'.
I've kept the web page open and refresh every 15 mins from waking up until midnight - absolutely nothing.
Called 119 but that was also a waste of time; their recorded message states they have no access to tests over and above those (not) available online.
Emailed surgery asking for any suggestions about how to get a test; call back from GP - short answer...no but highly critical of failing test system.
After an hour long coughing fit at 5am Monday I called 111 with concern about shortness of breath and wheezing; advised to go to A&E which I did - checked for respiratory function, blood tests, chest xray; all ok so sent home.
Tests are only done by hospital if you're in overnight so I was part hoping for that.
I will drive to local test centre and request a test in person.
What a shambles; if it wasn't so serious I would describe it as farcical.
System is a complete mis-nomer for this non-functioning process.
🙁 really sorry to hear that Frank, totally identify with some of that, but 4 days is utterly mad! Hope your little one is doing ok.
This whole thing is a farce. I mean, kids going back to school after h6 months apart, who could have possibly predicted that there would be a load of standard winter bugs appearing and causing symptoms? It's almost like if they'd have known, there'd have been time to prepare...
A colleague of mine who went through an identical thing made a very good point - why didn't they get a company like Ticketmaster to get going on the IT side of things?
I'm a software nerd, and if I released something like the gov site, I'd be lynched.
why didn’t they get a company like Ticketmaster to get going on the IT side of things?
What we need is a proper marketplace so you can set up a bot to book 5000 test slots then resell them to the highest bidder. We could call it Viralgogo.
We gave up , spoke to school, who said colds were ok & they knew testing was fuct
I believe the IT for testing was done by Delloite
Who also have the contract to run the testing centers themselves, which seems bonkers, surely life sciences or pharma would've been a better bet
We gave up , spoke to school, who said colds were ok
Obviously colds are ok, but this is the beginning of the end isnt it. Not your fault at all. Who is to judge whats a cold and whats covid. If testing fails now we are screwed. Its another .gov shambles. It will mean isolation for 2 weeks with no testing for any symptoms soon.
With cold symptoms why was he at school in the first place
Because having a cold isn't a reason for being off school. Also, a running nose isn't a COVID symptom. This would cause the lack of smell.
With no cough or fever then this shouldn't be a test. We wouldn't send a child home for this. I'm a teacher in a COVID sorted Primary School.
Also, a running nose isn’t a COVID symptom. This would cause the lack of smell.
Probably, but its any one symptom not all, maybe your school isnt that sorted.
Because having a cold isn’t a reason for being off school. Also, a running nose isn’t a COVID symptom. This would cause the lack of smell.
With no cough or fever then this shouldn’t be a test. We wouldn’t send a child home for this. I’m a teacher in a COVID sorted Primary School.
Any one out of the three symptoms - cough, fever or loss of smell/taste - should trigger a removal from school and testing. Schools are not equipped to make judgement on concurrent snot and smell loss, and need to follow the guidance.
If you could point me towards the country you think "has handled this pandemic well" id be very interred to hear about it.(and please don't say Sweden - lol what a cluster f@ck)
Also if can you can additionally point out what positive recommendations Stammer has made that are A) practical and not just populist and b) not going o mortgage the lives our all our grandchildren & great-grandchildren - I would genuinely love to hear them.
New Zealand.
Also if can you can additionally point out what positive recommendations Stammer has made...
No need. Government ministers have made positive recommendations... they just haven't followed through. They said what was required to prepare us for the full return to school and getting more people back to their workplaces... they just haven't delivered on any of it in time for the start of the term in England.
I think you'll find that's more to do with the proximity of the population than it is any unique policy.
Take the population of the Isle of White and spread it all across England - easy to distance.
They have urban areas in NZ (and South Korea)... this may come as a surprise to you.
Any one out of the three symptoms – cough, fever or loss of smell/taste – should trigger a removal from school and testing.
The problem as well seems to be that children present differently and these are the adult symptoms that are used as the threshold for getting a test
Germany have handled way better than most, started checking passengers on incoming flights in February, decentralised testing at regional lever headed up by RKI , locked down early, but kept essential services running well
They have a higher population than us, but dont have same natural border of being an island & much closer to outbreaks in Italy & Austria
RKI did a good job of releasing data quickly & spearheading pandemic response, in a way that PHE which is directly under control of Health Sec did not
Merkel was very good at explaining things honestly and in a grown up manner, in stark contrast to the confused obfuscation from Johnson & co- the continual lies about testing numbers & cummings farce eroded confidence
while their healthcare system is better funded with more capacity, our life science & pharma industries are similar & we arguably have better expertise in our universities
Unfortunately government wanted to centralise testing & removed all the PCR machines from our universities, taking them to lighthouse labs, here they sat unused for a month
Ultimately Merkel is competent & on top of detail in a way that 3 holidays Johnson is not, federal system allows for quick reaction at local lever- compared to control freak cummings who thinks his superbrain can & should run everything- excellent rlationship between universities, unions & llife sciences have helped too- ,meanwhile UK government has been at war with unions, schools, business & unis for the last 4 years- but with clear & consistent guidance from national science institute
The current testing collapse is partly because the response is being run by accountancy firm Delloite, almost all of our response, PPE procuremtnt etc has been contracted out to services firms with little or in experience in the sector. (something Star,mer has been requesting an inquiry into for a while)
As for Starmers response, Labour were pushing for exam algorithm to be released early so it could be scrutinised, the statement they put out with the NEU about getting schools back was exactly what the government said they would do (although as testing still a farce, they have failed on that one)
Theyve conisitently asked for improvements & honesty in testing
regards kids
guidance says persistent cough, is that coughing every few minutes, coughing once an hour?
ours had a cough because he was snotty, he gets tonsilitus every other year anyway, is that cause for a test?
childrens symptoms according to the governments own data are very different from adult:
Children display a different range of symptoms compared to the overall adult population. The top five symptoms in school aged children who test positive for COVID are;
fatigue (55%) headache (53%), fever (49%), sore throat (38%) and loss of appetite (35%).This was different compared to the App’s data on adults;
fatigue (87%), headache (72%), loss of smell (60%), persistent cough (54%) and sore throat (49%). In addition to this, research from the app has also found that one in six (15%) children who test positive for COVID also present with an unusual skin rash.
'Name one country that's handled it better'
*Country named*
'Not that one'
but if you want to pick a country that has handled it better
just throw a dart at a map of the world & as long as you dont hit Spain or maybe South America
youll have your answer
guidance says persistent cough, is that coughing every few minutes, coughing once an hour?
Its consistent cough or 3 episodes of coughing in 24hrs. Pretty much any new cough I'd say, but given .gov waffleshite its hard to say.
I will drive to local test centre and request a test in person.
They won't give you one , you need the qr code that the website sends you .
We booked an appointment but never received a QR, so we phoned and they couldn't find our appointment. Tried it again several times until I finally got an appointment and the QR code came through as soon as I pressed submit
Multiple people of LBC saying the way to get a test is put somewhere like Aberdeen in as where you need a test or accept whereever you are offered no matter how far it is, get sent issued a QR code and then go to your local test station and they will test you without question as long as you present a QR code they can scan