Everyone says our testing situation is so unacceptable...

IDSNeighbour · 2020-09-28T15:04:17+00:00

... but, according to WHO: we have the 14th highest number of tests per million in the world; we're 7th in the list of countries with more than 1 million people; we're top in the list of countries with more than 10 million people. Can we really be doing so very badly? If we are, then the rest of the world must be just as bad?

Pachonga · 28/09/2020 16:06

Oh well in that case, well done Boris

bathsh3ba · 28/09/2020 16:06

I don't think it's so much the numbers that are problematic as the fact that
(a) there is no gatekeeping so people who don't need a test are getting them
(b) it is unrealistic to test every cough in cold and flu season (gatekeeping could help identify who most needs a test)
(c) it takes too long to get a test
(d) it takes too long to get the result

Original poster

IDSNeighbour · 28/09/2020 16:14

I don't think it necessarily shows much about Boris, either way. More than everyone involved is working as hard as they can and maybe it isn't possible to do a better job. There's a lot of people that need tests. It's really difficult that we can't turn them around more quickly. But I'm not convinced that's anyone's point. It's jsut like a traffic jam. Can't be helped.

OP posts:

Pachonga · 28/09/2020 17:15

Everyone can get a test where I live. Why can’t you in Britain?

BTW, where I live was massively hit by Corona and huge mistakes have been made but the last seven months was not wasted and everyone seems to have learned from that time. What exactly has the British government been doing in the Covid lull?

Monkeytapper · 28/09/2020 17:20

I had to drive from Leeds to Darlington , over 50 miles,took 3 hour round trip for a test for my son as none available in Leeds.

OntheWaves40 · 28/09/2020 17:23

People are getting tests regardless of circumstance. If you WFH or primary DC or furloughed etc then why bother testing? Just isolate and leave the tests for those who need to get back to work/school etc

MJMG2015 · 28/09/2020 17:26

Who asked you to post this shite?

It doesn't matter how our testing compares to anywhere else. Not one bit.

What DOES matter is the people who need tests can't get them & the turn around for those who do is far too slow.

The Govt wasted months over the summer not getting this sorted & completely underestimated how many tests would be needed when schools returned, autumn hit and people were pressured into going back to the office.

I mean WTAF????? What idiot was in charge of that FFS.

It's CRAP. No amount of 'aren't we world beating' posts will change the fact that it's a shit show

NoSleepInTheHeat · 28/09/2020 17:27

We don't drive and haven't been able to order a postal test, they are not even saying there is a delay - would be annoying but understandable - just that none are available.
But yes it is working beautifully.

midgebabe · 28/09/2020 17:30

It takes too long to get a test or a result
No guarantees that people isolate
Not getting contact tracing sorted
People who are contacted may also not be isolating

NoSleepInTheHeat · 28/09/2020 17:32

People are getting tests regardless of circumstance. If you WFH or primary DC or furloughed etc then why bother testing
I agree that people shouldn't test 'just because', but you are going a bit far, are you really saying that children should be taken out of primary school if they have say a cough and not even be tested, just miss out 2 weeks of school on the odd chance it is Covid? You do realize they learn to read and write in primary school?

Same for WFH/furlough people (I imagine also unemployed, SAHP, retired etc), even during lockdown we were allowed out for exercise/food shopping, are you really saying that for every cough these people should be locked in for 2 weeks? I can't imagine people would comply!

ElspethFlashman · 28/09/2020 17:33

OK, so as an example, here in Ireland you get a test for the slightest reason, and from asking for a test to getting a result is anecdotally about 3 days.

Certainly it was for me last week. Requested a test Sunday, tested Monday, result Tuesday. Didn't have to take any sick leave whilst staying at home.

I'm perplexed as to how a country that's supposedly richer is struggling so much with quite a simple process.

Pachonga · 28/09/2020 18:00

Here (New York) you can have a free test for any reason or none at all, no one asks. Results usually back in 24 hours but can be longer (though rare now) and some are even the rapid 30 mins ones.

Someone you’ve been in contact with tests positive so you walk down to a pharmacy or testing center and get your results back next day, 48 hours off school or work max. In Britain, as I understand, if you’ve come into contact with a positive case but have no symptoms, you’re supposed to isolate for 14 days. How is that remotely helpful to anything?

bramleyapplesandcustard · 28/09/2020 18:07

@Pachonga because you can test negative when you're incubating the virus, so testing immediately or even a few days after contact with someone who's tested positive has a good chance of you getting an incorrect result.

BatShite · 28/09/2020 18:14

We could be first on those lists tbh, and if the majority of people were unable to get a test, or it was taking ages for results, it would still be shit.

Cornettoninja · 28/09/2020 18:19

[quote bramleyapplesandcustard]@Pachonga because you can test negative when you're incubating the virus, so testing immediately or even a few days after contact with someone who's tested positive has a good chance of you getting an incorrect result. [/quote]
Assuming this is true, and I’m trusting that it is at the moment, isolation for 14 days is the best method.

RE: OP yes it is that bad. Any fool could have seen the correlation between very common symptoms and schools/workplaces reopening would require a lot of testing. I don’t care that we’re doing the most tests (and I would be interested to read a proper interrogation into those figures) we’re not doing enough if people with symptoms can’t get hold of tests.

I agree that testing should have better gate keeping perhaps, but that also costs money and needs organisation so they need to pick their poison and just do it properly. Either more testing facilities or better targeting of tests - we’re actively being shafted by having neither.

Original poster

IDSNeighbour · 28/09/2020 18:38

Who asked you to post this shite?

Wait, what?! Who asks anybody to post any thread? This is a discussion forum. And this is the sub forum for discussing things to do with Covid. Not quite sure where I've gone wrong!

What I was querying was that, if we are doing more tests than most, then everywhere else must either be in the same state of waiting days for results or they must be failing to test loads of people who need testing.

From the posts from Irish and American pps it seems like getting tests and test results is not a problem for them. Anecdotally, do you think it seems like lots of cases are being missed by people not getting tested Elspeth and Pachonga ?

Maybe it isn't even in our best interests to catch all the asymptomatic cases if it means so many waiting until it's too late for tests. I agree the gatekeeping could be way off. But it seems like testing is being worked to its maximum. Maybe there's a way to make it better. But, if we really are near the top already, maybe not.

I just thought it was an interesting set of data to discuss. People don't have to respond if they don't agree.

OP posts:

cardibach · 28/09/2020 19:52

@OntheWaves40

People are getting tests regardless of circumstance. If you WFH or primary DC or furloughed etc then why bother testing? Just isolate and leave the tests for those who need to get back to work/school etc

Because knowing who has got it might be helpful in planning responses?

Pachonga · 28/09/2020 20:10

Because isolating for 14 days is not as economically viable as isolating for (up to) two days whilst you wait for your test results. Even if you don’t give two shits about people getting Covid, surely testing for the economy’s sake is worthwhile

I can only speak for my state but I reckon there will still be cases being missed but few compared to the height of it way back in March, where it was very difficult to get a test. It’s estimated there were up to 10x more cases here than actual positive tests.

swg1 · 28/09/2020 20:24

The problem is that we have a lot of tests because we need a lot of tests.

We ask people to isolate if they have symptoms but not their contacts. So, if my kid got sent home with a fever today that's 25 people he's been in contact with. If it takes 2 days to get a test and then another 2 days for results then that's enough time for those 25 people to infect their families who are infecting other people.

And that's a school where it's relatively easy for me to pick up the phone to call them and alert them. If you're not a schoolkid but someone working in a pub where Test & Trace are involved you can add at least a couple more days to that.

Testing lots is good but it's only half the story. Quantity isn't everything. You also have to do it quickly and respond to it quickly.

StatisticalSense · 28/09/2020 20:31

The main issue with testing is that Hancock made pointless and unsustainable promises to the care sector that he is unwilling to role back on.

Rosehip10 · 28/09/2020 20:34

Hi Dido

Palmtree76 · 28/09/2020 20:37

I needed a test today. I booked one yesterday at 8pm for 12:30pm today. There was NOBODY there when I got there. In and out in ten minutes. I didn’t need a 30 minute slot. There were five bays either side of me totally clear. I think the operations side works well but we don’t need 30 minutes per test it could be done in 15!

swg1 · 28/09/2020 22:08

@Palmtree76

I needed a test today. I booked one yesterday at 8pm for 12:30pm today. There was NOBODY there when I got there. In and out in ten minutes. I didn’t need a 30 minute slot. There were five bays either side of me totally clear. I think the operations side works well but we don’t need 30 minutes per test it could be done in 15!

Unless I'm mistaken I think their current test issue isn't at the "jamming stick up nose" end but at the lab end where they process it. So it makes less difference if your testing station is quiet if they haven't got the ability to keep up with processing at the other end!

Triangularbubble · 28/09/2020 22:25

The issue is as much who you test as how many tests you do. Tests per head of total population doesn’t tell you much if you allocate a huge percentage to one very small segment of the population. It might well be the right thing to do, but the 100,000+ tests per day (maybe a third of the total capacity) utilised in the social care sector is a big chunk of total capacity that can’t be used to give walk in tests to the public. I’d be interested in how other countries are protecting and testing their care home sector.

CarrotInATree · 28/09/2020 22:33

One of my household needed a test. I was only able to get a home test, the day after symptoms started despite checking all the time. So received the test two days after symptoms began. Sent it back almost immediately, so it arrived at the testing place three days after symptoms began. Got the results two days later, five days after symptoms began.

Know how long the average incubation period is? Five days. So by the time we got the test result, for track and trace to start working over the next two days, the majority of people who had been exposed via the person in my household would already be symptomatic. It’s not about the total number of tests, it’s about theIt accessibility, the processing speed, the quality of the track and trace operation that follows. Our current system is structured so that it cannot prevent the spread of the virus.