ON Tuesday morning people were told that there were no slots available to book a PCR test at any sites across England as issues with lateral flow tests continue.
A message on the UK Government website to book a Covid test briefly said that no slots were available at any drive-in or walk-in sites across England.
It was later updated to show that slots are available in every region, although there are “none available” in Hertfordshire, Suffolk, the Isle of Wight, Bristol, and Mendip, and “very few” in Stockton-on-Tees.
PCR test kits which are posted to people’s homes, usually arriving the following day, are available, the website said.
READ MORE: Lateral flow tests unavailable online as Omicron 'tsunami' looms over Scotland
The public are being advised to try again later if they cannot get a test, which will not be available through helplines.
Issues surrounding the delivery of rapid antigen tests have run into a second day as new guidance came into force for the testing of coronavirus close contacts.
Double vaccinated people are now being asked to take a lateral flow test every day for seven days if they come into contact with someone with Covid-19.
However, they are still unavailable to order via the Government website after an issue was highlighted on Monday.
It is understood that a number were available in the early hours of the morning.
A message on the site on Tuesday morning said there were no tests available for home delivery, although tests can still be collected from pharmacies.
On Monday, the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) said that “due to exceptionally high demand, ordering lateral flow tests on gov.uk has been temporarily suspended to fulfil existing orders”.
READ MORE: First Minister to update Scotland on Omicron in TV address tonight
UK Government ministers have insisted there is no issue over supply, but rather there are constraints on the delivery system for the tests, as they encouraged people to pick up testing kits from their local pharmacies.
However, many people have reported that their local pharmacy is out of stock.
Health Secretary Sajid Javid said limits on ordering tests are linked to delivery capacity and that new arrangements have been reached with Amazon and others.
Javid said: “There is no shortage of actual tests that are held by UKHSA. There are tens of millions of tests… the issue, the limiting factor because of the hugely increased demand … is the ability to deliver the tests and having enough capability to deliver the tests because the current arrangements with Royal Mail alone are not enough.
“There are new arrangements that I’ve reached with Amazon and other delivery methods.”
But Labour’s shadow health minister Wes Streeting described Covid testing as a “shambles”.
Streeting said an increase in demand should have been foreseen, and added: “This is a serious problem. Those coming into contact with positive Omicron cases will not be able to follow the rules and get themselves tested on a daily basis.”
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