Covid tests sent to Italy and Germany as UK labs are overwhelmed
As virus numbers begin their rise I worry on the strength of articles like this about just how much of a grip we have on the virus and how effective the proposed track and trace measures are. Without them I fear vulnerable groups in heretofore non impacted rural settlements coming into the eye of the storm.
The government’s coronavirus testing programme is dealing with a backlog of185,000 swabs, with tests being sent to Italy and Germany as local labs are overwhelmed.
Not even a week after the government was forced to apologise for continuing delays to Covid testing, the Department of Health and Social Care insisted on Sunday that the capacity of the NHS test-and-trace system was the highest it had ever been but there was a “significant” demand for tests.
This includes demand from people “who do not have symptoms and are not otherwise eligible”, the DHSC said.
Leaked documents revealed the 185,000 backlog and the fact that tests are being sent to German and Italian laboratories for processing, according to the Sunday Times.