Re: GP says Coronavirus testing system 'falling over'
Coronavirus: Testing issues 'will be solved in a matter of weeks', says Hancock
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-54163683
Speaking in the House of Commons, Mr Hancock said there were "operational challenges" with testing which the government was "working hard" to fix. He told MPs
there had been a "sharp rise" in those seeking a test, "including those who are not eligible".
He said throughout the pandemic they had prioritised testing according to need. "I do not shirk from decisions about prioritisation," Mr Hancock said. "The top priority is and always has been acute clinical care. The next priority is social care, where we're now sending over 100,000 tests a day because we've all seen the risks this virus poses in care homes."
Downing Street acknowledged the "significant demand" for coronavirus tests but said "capacity is the highest it's ever been."
But Labour's shadow health secretary Mr Ashworth said Mr Hancock was "losing control of this virus".
"When schools reopen and people return to workplaces and social distancing becomes harder, infections rise," he said. "So extra demand on the system was inevitable, so why didn't he use the summer to significantly expand NHS lab capacity and fix contact tracing?"
Hancock, like most of the Cabinet, deflects questions about his responsibility blaming others - in the case of testing, "too many ineligible" people are applying for tests .....
After the "first wave" Hancock had every opportunity and bucketsful of money with which he could have set up localised test centres and nationwide laboratories, both of which he, and the leader of Track, Test and Trace, Dido "Incompetent" Harding, singularly failed to do .....
Without those resources, the only way that Hancock can solve the "testing issues" is by excluding much of the population from the service .....