Since the pandemic started, there has been a heap of controversies. Political leaders with no medical or scientific knowhow are engaging in talks and making policies that would negatively impact the attempts of the medical fraternity to control the infection. Besides, these world leaders are not consulting any medical doctor before making new rules related to the coronavirus pandemic. The latest news is from the UK where the government is offering mass screening for the virus. But experts feel that this is not a good idea.
Mass testing and the UK
The UK PM has said that like Liverpool all areas of the UK would go for mass testing for COVID-19 in tier three after the current lockdown ends. The government has added that it will work with the local authorities to see to it that the plan is put into action and works. The Faculty of Public Health and the Association of Directors of Public Health said that NHS Test and Trace has to be improved and must be the top focus during the testing.
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Boris Johnson and others [Source: BBC]
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This scheme was done in Liverpool. All the people were tested with new rapid lateral flow tests. In this, the results are available in 20 minutes without the need for a lab. Until now, 100k people with no symptoms have undergone the test and 700 results came back as positive.
Extension of Liverpool pilot
After the Liverpool pilot mass testing, the government has sent rapid test kits to 90 local authorities of England and the 2000 military personnel are helping them in this transport and reach operations. The Borough of Sefton is near Liverpool and ahs half the population as Liverpool. But it has complained that it has only 12 people to do the mass testing and the government has sent them no help until now.
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COVID-19 mass testing in Liverpool [Source: BBC]
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The government has asked local authorities to tell them what more they require for the mass testing and they would try to meet their demands. Liverpool authorities say that they are delighted with the pilot study and results.
Also, read False-positive and false-negative COVID-19 tests!
But the Faculty of Public Health and the Association of Directors of Public Health feels that to replicate the Liverpool example across the country would be a difficult task. The resources are not much and it would be difficult.
Public Health Department not happy
The department has said:
"The additional capacity provided to Liverpool to set up and manage testing sites alone has been enormous and it is difficult to envisage how or even whether this could be replicated at the pace being proposed across the country.
"This threatens to be a distraction from other activities, like planning and rolling out vaccines."
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UK Public Health Faculty [Source: Eupha]
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Further, they stated:
"The key priority needs to be targeted community testing... in settings or locations of higher risk of transmission or where the consequence of infection is higher."
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