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Some Britons are being told to travel up to 500 miles to get a coronavirus swab, as testing centers sink under pressure from growing demand.
Families with young children and patients with underlying conditions in England are offered driving tests at Scotland or Welshthey told Sky News.
Parents of children who have just returned to school for the first time in months have to keep them away again and isolate themselves until they get a negative result.
But despite hours trying to secure a space on the government website or on the phone line, it is proving impossible for many.
Sky News spoke with families across the country struggling to get coronavirus tests.
‘I have nurses who visit me day and night, it could be polluting’
Jayne, 59, of Weston-super-Mare
Jayne is 59 years old and lives alone in Weston-super-Mare, Somerset.
She is diabetic, suffers from a stomach condition, and has had cancer in the past.
Her mobility is limited and caregivers visit her twice a day.
She developed a cough and fever in the early hours of Tuesday and was offered a coronavirus test in Telford, 97 miles away.
“I spent two whole days trying to get tested, but they keep offering me further and further,” he told Sky News.
“I’m not going to go 97 miles there and 97 miles back, it’s a long way to go, I don’t have mobility, I just can’t do it.”
She added: “It’s ridiculous. I feel very disappointed right now. I just want proof.
“I have nurses who come day and night, it could be polluting.
“I depend on my daughter for most things, but I don’t want to see her or my grandchildren until she knows I don’t have it.”
‘We try to be good citizens, but the system does not allow us to’
Barak, 43, South London
Barak, 43, from South London, is trying to test his three-year-old daughter after she developed a fever.
He and his partner cannot go to work and his other daughter has been forced out of school.
Trials have been offered in Aberdeen, Inverness, Dumfries and Cardiff, up to 500 miles away.
The pastry chef told Sky News: “Our three-year-old son woke up to a temperature of 38.3 ° C at 7 am.
“We’ve been trying to get a proof ever since. We keep updating the website, but now it just says that the proofs are not available. Who knows how long it will take to get one.”
Government guidance states that the test must be done within five days of the onset of symptoms for the results to be reliable.
“If we can’t get one in five days, we will be stuck at home for 14 days,” Barak said.
“The most disappointing thing is that my six-year-old daughter does not go to school, she only came back on Friday.
“We have been very cooperative since March, we understand the need to isolate ourselves. We are trying to be good citizens but the system does not allow us.
“Boris Johnson Says Get Tested If You Have Symptoms, But You Can’t”.
‘We had to go in private because my mom is vulnerable’
Evelyn Walsh and her daughter, six, from North London
Evelyn Walsh’s six-year-old daughter contracted a fever and cough in the early hours of Tuesday.
She lives in North London with her husband, daughter, three-year-old son and 68-year-old mother who suffers from chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.
The 40-year-old told Sky News: “At first they told us we could do a test drive in Essex, but when we tried to confirm it, they just said nothing was available.
“We called 119 and they told us there was nothing available within a 155 mile radius in seven days, even though the government says you should get tested within five days of the onset of symptoms.”
Evelyn was so anxious for her mother to contract the virus that she paid £ 149 for a private test near the family home.
“I am extremely nervous that she has it. I know that children suffer from it much less seriously, but with my mother, I am living on nerves.
“My mother is also very anxious and the children do not want to be locked up again.
“We just got over the hurdle of going back to school and now none of us can leave the house. It’s a disaster.”
‘Makes you understand why some people ignore the guidelines’
Claire Cox’s daughter, Edie, a, from Cheltenham
Claire Cox lives in Cheltenham with her husband and their two daughters, who are one and six years old.
When they tried to get a test spot, they were offered one in Dundee, 385 miles away.
She said: “My one year old daughter got her shots on Friday and has had a fever ever since.
“He probably doesn’t have it, it’s probably just his shots, but there’s nothing we can do.
“I’m not going to drive nearly 400 miles there just to test and turn around.”
Claire managed to get a home test kit.
“I ordered one for home, but we are waiting at least a few days,” he added.
“It’s very limiting. It makes it easier to understand why people would ignore the guidelines and go on normally.
“Technology is useless, we will never control it if people cannot get tested.
“And this is just the beginning, it will be worse in the winter. It does not fill you with hope.”
‘I drove back and forth for nothing’
Paul Bonnett, 43, of Chelmsford, Essex
Paul Bonnett, 43, and his wife live in Chelmsford, Essex, with their two daughters, 14 and 7, and their nine-year-old son.
Their youngest daughter developed a temperature of 38.4 ° C on Wednesday morning, so they secured a test drive at Stansted Airport, 40 kilometers away, in the afternoon.
“We did not receive a confirmation email, which was a bit strange,” he told Sky News.
“When we got there, they said we should have an email or a QR code.
“I said we didn’t get it either and they told me they couldn’t do anything.
“I drove 25 miles out and back for nothing. It’s frustrating and a waste of time.
“My main concern is that she was at school yesterday and could have caught it from someone else who shows no symptoms and still goes to school and infects people.”
He added: “We have Boris on TV telling us that there is a great system in place, but they can’t cope.
“It feels like we’re locked in again, but possibly for no reason.”
Why are testing centers struggling under pressure?
People without coronavirus symptoms who undergo tests are to blame for the system reaching its limit, the health secretary suggested.
Matt Hancock told Sky News that the reason many people have reported that they cannot book a test is because the proportion of those who ask and have no symptoms has risen to 25%.
Sky News has contacted the Department of Health and Social Care for comment.
