BRITAIN could run out of coronavirus tests in “3-4 weeks” if they didn’t limit the kits to a small group of people, an NHS worker reveal has revealed.
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A call handler for NHS 111 said the health service could run out of tests in 3 – 4 weeks if too many people were tested.
Responding to questions about who can get tested, the call handler said they were having to restrict the number of tests being given out.
They said: “We’re only testing (certain) people…if we gave tests to everyone else we would run out of tests in 3-4 weeks.”
But advice was changed on Thursday, with Brits who have mild symptoms being told they won’t get a test.
Over 40,000 people have been tested for coronavirus so far.
There are also some random tests being carried out in GP surgeries.
Sources at NHS England stressed they were not running out, and that anyone who needed a test would be able to get it.
The number of confirmed cases skyrocketed TODAY to 1,543, with 37 deaths.
Yesterday confirmed cases increased from 1,140 to 1391 in less than a day.
Last week experts predicted that up to 10,000 Brits might have the virus already – and many of them won’t even know it.
Anyone with a new, persistent cough or a fever has been told to self-isolate.
It comes today as the World Health Organisation told government to “test, test, test”, warning: “You cannot fight a fire blindfolded.”
Even NHS workers are not being tested, and thousands of people have signed a petition calling for frontline healthcare workers to be tested for COVID-19.
UCL Professor Anthony Costello, specialising in global health and sustainable development, said the controversial move to restrict tests risks backfiring and allowing the epidemic to “accelerate” and tear through Britain.
He told the BBC Radio 4 Today Programme: “You test intensively to find cases you trace contacts you quarantine all of them and have policies to maintain social distancing.
“This has worked in Korea, Japan, China, Singapore and other Asian states.”
“And it seems that European policy and our own UK policy is not to set up intensive UK population testing or contact tracing.
“I don’t see how this will delay the epidemic – quite realistically it could accelerate it and we could lose control.”
The PM is expected to reveal more measures to tackle the deadly virus later today.
Mass gatherings could be banned, and extra advice is set to be dished out to the elderly and vulnerable people.
And emergency legislation will be revealed tomorrow to try and protect as many lives as possible.
A spokesman for the NHS said: “As the chief medical officer has said, the NHS could well come under pressure because of coronavirus.
“As the whole country responds to this new virus, to help people get checked quickly, we are already ramping up the number of testing centres across the country, so that 10,000 tests can be carried out daily, while additional investment means that more call handlers will be recruited to NHS 111 to give expert advice to callers with concerns about the virus.
“Anyone with concerns about coronavirus can use the NHS 111 online service, and while the 111 phone line is understandably busy, and people may have to wait longer than usual, all enquiries are being responded to thanks to hard NHS working staff.”
There are 12 Public Health England labs engaged in COVID-19 testing in addition to a number of NHS labs which has increased the capacity for testing.
Currently Public Health England has the capacity to process between 1,500-2,000 tests per day – but they are trying to ramp it up to 10,000.
They say they are able to process the majority of tests within 24-48 hours.
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