To think a lack of testing fucks up everything

[AlexaShutUp]

So many of the processes that organisations have put in place to prevent or slow the spread of covid depend on the availability of timely testing, which simply isn't happening. AIBU to think that this lack of testing availability renders many of these measures useless?

Take the bubbles in school, for example. If a child A gets symptoms, they are supposed to self isolate and get tested. However, the rest of the bubble only isolates if child A tests positive. If child A can't get a test for two weeks because there are no slots available, then the other kids stay at school throughout the isolation period and continue to spread the virus around the bubble and beyond it. Child B and Child C might be totally asymptomatic, but in the meantime, they pass it to their friends and family members, including siblings in different year groups. Child D might also get symptoms and have to self isolate, but not before spreading it to Child E, Child F and one of their teachers, who continue to pass it on to people both in the bubble and outside it. In the absence of testing, there is no containment strategy, and so the virus spreads exponentially. So what is the point of having bubbles in the first place?

Same with workplaces and community transmission. If Bob becomes symptomatic, he and his household have to isolate. However, neither his close associates nor those of his family members have to isolate until they are contacted by NHS track and trace, which is only triggered by a positive test result. And nobody gets a positive test result because there are no tests available. In the meantime, Bob and his family's friends and co-workers continue to spread the virus around to their close associates and the whole thing snowballs completely out of control.

Of course, I know this is all stating the bleeding obvious, but given that it is so obvious, I am absolutely incredulous that we don't seem to have managed to put a better infrastructure into place by now. I tried (in a professional capacity) to book a test today for a person who is symptomatic. No tests available anywhere. The person and his household are now self isolating. However, even though we know that he has been in close contact with others outside his household in the last 48 hours, under government guidelines, they are not expected to isolate until they are contacted by NHS track and trace, which will never happen because there are no tests.

Surely, there is no way of stopping the spread without a viable testing system in place?

Yup they have messed up completely. A friend's son was told to isolate as a student sat besides him has tested positive but now her children are showing symptoms and there's no tests available whenever she has tried so the rest of each child's class continue to attend school as no test means no isolation.
My daughter's classmate has also been taken ill so has been off school, her parents think it is covid as she has the classic symptoms but again no test available and so if I choose to keep my daughter off school it will be unauthorised plus I risk a fine.
Its a huge cock up and the Brexit debate has completely overpowered the no tests debate

Just wanted to say that NHS aren't operating Track and Trace - it is outsourced to Serco and Sitel and to be honest I suspect the only reason the Government keep using NHS each time they mention Track and Trace is to ensure nobody questions the suitability or capability of it (see PMQ's when KS was accused of "undermining the NHS" when he questioned the system).

YANBU at all. It is an absolute shower that we've handed monies over to various companies for a system which is fundamentally incapable of reducing Covid-19 infection rates, led by someone enormously incompetent. If this was another country and the UK press were reporting on it, we'd be tearing them to shreds. Two local schools have entire year groups self-isolating for 14 days and it isn't likely to improve any time soon.

We’ve got 3 teachers out of 9 out with symptoms and only one has managed to get a test despite trying continuously for 48 hours!

I'm the manager of a care home ( mental health )- we originally got sent a box of 50 test kits months ago, then told we couldn't use them as all randox kits found to be failing quality control. Can we get replacement kits? Can we heck! Can I get even order my residents a home kit online. No. Have I got staff self isolating, losing money, driving around all over the place trying to find somewhere, yes I have. It's a complete shit show. CQC our regulatory body are telling us we should be doing weekly testing on staff, monthly on residents but I just wish I knew how to do this right now. A month ago staff could get tests at the drive through, not now though.

Thanks for all of the replies. I'm genuinely sorry for all of the people who are struggling with this. It's unbelievable that the system is so unfit for purpose.

It was understandable that we didn't have the right infrastructure in place in March. 6 months later, it's unforgivable.

I think that any advantage in terms of slowing the spread from this Rule of Six, is wiped out by the lack of availability in testing.

I suspect that the number of case will continue to rise.

It just beggars belief that not one person thought “when kids go back to school, in autumn, there will be more colds. We should get more tests in so that when there are more sick people, there are more tests.” I feel like every mother of school age children would know this so either no one thought of it, or it was thought of and dismissed.
Every other country that manages to bring this under control is testing testing testing (eg Victoria at the moment in Australia). In NSW we nearly had another big outbreak but by massive testing and then isolating people and testing their contacts, we (so far) seem to have avoided the worst of it.

Totally agree, absolutely predictable and yet another example of the failure of our leadership to be proactive rather than reactive . I get that no one could predict this but the utter shambolic incompetence I’m just about everything is quite unbearable.

Then they blame various people trying to turn an already divided country on each other even more rather than accept responsibility for their actions.

As an aside I am going along with the rules but they need to start giving a proper explanation- how does a family of 5 seeing one grandparent from a household at one time then the other another time stop the spread -what is the reasoning behind it as I just can’t see it and it appears it’s just to look different to Scotland.

I work in an NHS lab which has the capacity to test samples. We would need funding for a few extra biomedical scientists.
But we aren’t.
We aren’t we?
Because the ultimately the government doesn’t want us to.