As Britons race to make sure they’re Covid-free before New Year’s Eve, lateral flow testing kits have been made unavailable once again.
It was no longer possible to purchase lateral flow test kits for home delivery on Monday afternoon.
One message says: “Sorry! There are not any home delivery slots available for rapid lateral flow test right now.”
You may be able still to get rapid lateral flow testing from your local pharmacy. You should not pick up any tests if symptoms are absent.
Instead, people were encouraged to go to their local pharmacy and pick up test results. The message also reminds them that tests cannot be ordered from NHS111 or NHS999.
Website also suggests that you could use tests you already have at home (including ones your children brought home from school) instead.
As Britons rush to be sure that they’re Covid-free, lateral flow testing kits won’t be available today for home delivery.
PCR walk in test sites are also highly sought after today. This meant that appointments were unavailable temporarily for approximately two hours due to limited availability of lateral flow tests.
Britons are eligible to receive lateral flow testing at no cost from any pharmacy on the NHS site
The 119 service also stated that it ‘doesn’t have access to any more home delivery slots at the moment’.
Boris Johnson will review the data to show the effect Christmas celebrations have on the number Covid cases.
To determine whether further measures are required to prevent the spread Omicron variant, the Prime Minister should use the data.
A public health specialist advised people last week to use tests responsibly amid the current shortage.
Azeem Majeed (head of primary care at Imperial College London) said via Twitter, ‘I hear about people performing multiple lateral flow test in one day.
“The test are not in sufficient supply in many areas of England. This practice will only exacerbate the supply problem, even for important workers like NHS staff. Use the tests with care.
This comes just four weeks after the Government stopped home delivery of lateral flow testing slots during Christmas week.
In the meantime, it announced that it would be launching a campaign to ship 900,000.00 test kits every day.
The Government, in accordance with Royal Mail, hoped to increase its home-testing kit delivery capacity by 900,000.
There were fears that Covid-sufferers’ family members would lose contact due to the test shortages. New rules allow them to take daily tests, instead of being isolated.
It is believed that more appointments have been opened for PCR testing at walk-in locations.
According to inews, however, there was no shortage of slots in England after Christmas, which led to the closure of all remaining spots.
There have been more openings since then. The PCR test facility online reports widespread availability at many walk-in sites all across the country.
According to UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA), the problems were caused by “high demand” but had been solved by mid-afternoon.
According to a spokesperson, PCR testing appointments are possible but may be more difficult than usual due to high demand. People can book more appointments every afternoon.
The experts stated that testing is a key component in keeping people safe and urged them to encourage people to order PCR tests.
Boris Johnson, along with Professor Chris Whitty (his top advisor) and Sir Patrick Vallance (his top adviser), will see if Christmas infected will affect him. The meeting will determine if new legal safeguards will be necessary to prevent the next social hurrah which will take place in 2021.
New rules were announced in advance of Christmas in Scotland and Wales. They include Hogmanay festivities being cancelled in Edinburgh for the second consecutive year.
Downing Street, which described the meeting between the PM and his advisers as routine, is understood to be leaning towards new guidance urging people in England to be careful and limit contacts – rather than imposing new legally binding restrictions such as table service in pubs or limits on household mixing.
However, this may change if there is a rising tide of coronavirus infection in the NHS.
To remove all legal restrictions, Parliament would need to be recalled within 48 hours. This can happen quickly and could cause severe problems in the industry.
For information on lateral flow testing, the UKHSA was contacted.