[ad_1]
Senior UK health officials reached out to their Irish counterparts this week for help with testing for Covid-19.
The UK faces problems with its government’s Covid-19 tracking and testing program, as people are forced to travel hundreds of miles to get tested.
HSE CEO Paul Reid said he was contacted by NHS officials earlier this week to help plug a hole in their system.
Reid was championing Ireland’s testing capacity following a surge in demand for Covid-19 testing in recent weeks.
He said: ‘What is happening to their (UK) testing and tracing system, which is almost in collapse and the swab centers are closing?
“Earlier this week I was contacted by some high-level NHS officials seeking that the Irish Health Service could run some tests in the labs themselves.
“What we did in the quieter period of the summer was increase our capacity to 100,000 tests (per week).
“We were not in a position (to help). We developed our capacity exclusively for Ireland. It was an informal contact, but it shows where other systems are.”
England has been struggling with its testing ability, as new figures showed that only a third of people who showed up for a coronavirus test had results within 24 hours.
But the head of the system denied that he was “failing” and a high-ranking minister criticized people for “complaining” about his shortcomings.
As pressure on the government continued to mount due to chaos in the test system, Dido Harding, director of NHS Test and Trace, acknowledged that demand significantly exceeded capacity.
But he suggested that the size of the system had been modeled on government scientific advisers, and suggested that problems were compounded when people without symptoms sought tests for which they were not eligible.
Faced with criticism for the paucity of evidence, Commons leader Jacob Rees-Mogg told MPs that “instead of this never-ending complaint”, people should “celebrate the phenomenal success of the British nation in obtaining up to a quarter of a million tests of a disease. ” that nobody knew about until the beginning of the year. “
Meanwhile, in the latest sign that stricter measures may be required to control the spread of the virus, around two million people in the northeast of England will be banned from socializing with other households, following a “worrisome” increase in Covid-19 cases. .
New test figures for England showed that 33.3% of people who sampled at a regional site, local site, or mobile test unit received their result within 24 hours, despite Boris Johnson’s promise that all would be recovered within that deadline by the end of June. .
Approximately 73.9% of the close contacts of people who tested positive for Covid-19 in England were contacted through the Test and Trace system in the week ending 9 September.
This figure is higher than the 69.5% of the previous week, but below the 77.2% reached in the week of August 19.
Ms Harding told MPs that “demand is significantly outpacing our capacity” to test for coronavirus, but “I strongly disprove that the system is failing.”
The number of people who called 119 or visited the website to try to book tests was “three to four times the number of tests we currently have available,” although that would imply a double counting.
But he said the number of symptomatic people, the only people who should be eligible for diagnostic testing, was “significantly less” than the number trying to get a swab.
She suggested that about a quarter of those who showed up for a test had no symptoms.
Ms. Harding said the system’s capability was based on modeling by the government’s scientific advisory panel, Sage.
In anticipation of the return from schools, “we plan on a considerable increase in testing capacity,” he said, but “clearly we don’t have enough testing capacity today and we are doing everything we can to increase testing capacity.”
The latest figure showed the capacity to perform 242,817 tests a day, but the British government has pledged to increase to 500,000 by the end of October.
Testing is being prioritized, with about 50% being for patients and NHS and social care staff.
Ms Harding said more testing was also conducted in the outbreak areas and then among the general population, key workers, especially teachers, could be prioritized.
Today’s figures showed that there were another 3,395 laboratory-confirmed coronavirus cases in the UK, and 21 more people died within 28 days of testing positive.
This brings the death toll in the UK to 41,705, although separate figures released by statistics agencies show 57,500 cases in which Covid-19 was mentioned on a death certificate.
The new Northeast restrictions go into effect tomorrow in Northumberland, North Tyneside, South Tyneside, Newcastle-upon-Tyne, Gateshead, Sunderland and County Durham.
Residents will be prohibited from socializing in homes or gardens with outsiders or with bubbles of support, food and drink venues will be restricted to table service only, and leisure and entertainment venues must also close at 10 p.m.
The changes run alongside the limit of six people throughout England on social gatherings.
[ad_2]