• Privacy policy
  • T&C’s
  • About Us
    • FAQ
    • Meet the Team
  • Contact us
TLE ONLINE SHOP!
  • TLE
  • News
  • Politics
  • Business
  • Sport
  • Opinion
  • Elevenses
  • Entertainment
    • All Entertainment
    • Film
    • Lifestyle
      • Horoscopes
    • Lottery Results
      • Lotto
      • Thunderball
      • Set For Life
      • EuroMillions
  • Food
    • All Food
    • Recipes
  • Property
  • Travel
  • Tech/Auto
  • JOBS
No Result
View All Result
The London Economic
SUPPORT THE LONDON ECONOMIC
NEWSLETTER
  • TLE
  • News
  • Politics
  • Business
  • Sport
  • Opinion
  • Elevenses
  • Entertainment
    • All Entertainment
    • Film
    • Lifestyle
      • Horoscopes
    • Lottery Results
      • Lotto
      • Thunderball
      • Set For Life
      • EuroMillions
  • Food
    • All Food
    • Recipes
  • Property
  • Travel
  • Tech/Auto
  • JOBS
No Result
View All Result
The London Economic
No Result
View All Result
Home News

UK sends 50,000 coronavirus test samples to US after problems in lab network

The news came as the number of daily coronavirus tests fell below the 100,000 target for a seventh day in a row.

Jack Peat by Jack Peat
2020-05-10 07:46
in News
FacebookTwitterLinkedinEmailWhatsapp

Around 50,000 coronavirus test samples had to be sent from the UK to the US after “operational issues” in the lab network led to delays in the system.

The news came as the number of daily coronavirus tests fell below Health Secretary Matt Hancock’s 100,000 target for a seventh day in a row.

Following a report in the Sunday Telegraph, the Department of Health said sending swabs abroad is one of the contingencies to deal with so-called teething problems in a rapidly-expanded testing system.

It is understood the test results will be validated back in the UK and communicated to patients “as quickly as possible”.

Capacity “being restored”

The department said work has been undertaken to resolve the issues and capacity is quickly being restored.

A spokeswoman for the Department of Health and Social Care said: “The expansion of the UK’s coronavirus testing network has involved setting up an entirely new ‘Lighthouse’ lab network to process test swabs.

“When problems arise, we have contingencies in place which include creating extra temporary capacity for our labs or sending swabs abroad to partner labs for completion.

RelatedPosts

Met Office forecasts extreme heat conditions for Glastonbury 2050

Royal spending surpasses £100m as household incomes fall for record fourth quarter in a row

WTF! Bernie Ecclestone says he would ‘take a bullet for Putin’

Piers Corbyn handed fines for breaching Covid-19 rules during anti-lockdown protests

“Of course, our partner labs must match our high standards.”

Chartered flights from Stansted airport

The Sunday Telegraph reported the samples were airlifted to the US in chartered flights from Stansted airport.

Earlier, at the daily Downing Street briefing it was confirmed 96,878 tests were conducted in the 24 hours to 9am on Saturday, down from 97,029 the day before.

But health leaders said that they expected “fluctuations” in the figures, and that testing was still much higher than it was at the start of the outbreak.

Deputy chief medical officer Professor Jonathan Van-Tam said not much could be read into day-to-day variations.

Speaking at the briefing, he added: “We are now really at a high plateau, in the region of 100,000 tests per day.

“There is some fluctuation, and quite frankly I expect there to be some fluctuation on a day-to-day basis.

“I don’t think we can read too much into day-to-day variations, but the macro-picture is this is now at a much, much higher level than it ever was at the beginning of this crisis.”

Test and trace strategy

Prof Van-Tam also said that the test-and-trace strategy of finding people with the virus and tracking people they have been in contact with was part of the measures needed to ease the lockdown.

When asked if he agreed that new infections had to be down in the hundreds a day for the strategy to be effective when it is currently in the thousands, he said it was entirely appropriate for it to be part of the “overall measures” to tackle the virus.

Prof Van-Tam told the briefing that how extensive the strategy had to be depended on the level of disease in the population.

He added: “Those two together make a package of test and trace, and we have been very clear that test and trace on its own is part of the solution to how we continue to live with this virus after the lockdown.

“It is not the total solution.

“How extensive the test and tracing needs to be clearly depends on the level of disease in the population but it is entirely appropriate to see it as part of the overall measures that will give us more flexibility and more room as to what we can do in the social distancing space to ease things.

“But on its own it is a contribution, it is not a total solution.”

Related: How Amazon became the “new Red Cross”

Since you are here

Since you are here, we wanted to ask for your help.

Journalism in Britain is under threat. The government is becoming increasingly authoritarian and our media is run by a handful of billionaires, most of whom reside overseas and all of them have strong political allegiances and financial motivations.

Our mission is to hold the powerful to account. It is vital that free media is allowed to exist to expose hypocrisy, corruption, wrongdoing and abuse of power. But we can't do it without you.

If you can afford to contribute a small donation to the site it will help us to continue our work in the best interests of the public. We only ask you to donate what you can afford, with an option to cancel your subscription at any point.

To donate or subscribe to The London Economic, click here.

The TLE shop is also now open, with all profits going to supporting our work.

The shop can be found here.

You can also SUBSCRIBE TO OUR NEWSLETTER .

Subscribe to our Newsletter

View our  Privacy Policy and Terms & Conditions

Trending on TLE

  • All
  • trending
Abdollah

‘Rescue us’: Afghan teacher begs UK to help him escape Taliban

CHOMSKY: “If Corbyn had been elected, Britain would be pursuing a much more sane course”

What If We Got Rid Of Prisons?

More from TLE

Greta Thunberg: Scotland is not a world leader on climate change

Why Big Sam has finally got it right

Archie to be christened as Meghan and Harry keep godparents secret

Revealed: wealthy benefit most from water meters, others actually lose out

These are the monks cashing in on Scotland’s Buckfast addiction

Universal Credit “risks many being left without income and pushed into poverty”

How To Make: BBQ Honey & Mustard Chicken

7 steps to introducing a flexible worker into your company

The value of using a specialist job board

Calls for unity over the most divisive issue of our generation are futile

JOBS

FIND MORE JOBS

About Us

TheLondonEconomic.com – Open, accessible and accountable news, sport, culture and lifestyle.

Read more

© 2019 thelondoneconomic.com - TLE, International House, 24 Holborn Viaduct, London EC1A 2BN. All Rights Reserved.




No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • News
  • Politics
  • Business
  • Sport
  • Entertainment
  • Lifestyle
  • Food
  • Travel
  • JOBS
  • More…
    • Elevenses
    • Opinion
    • Property
    • Tech & Auto
  • About Us
    • Meet the Team
    • Privacy policy
  • Contact us

© 2019 thelondoneconomic.com - TLE, International House, 24 Holborn Viaduct, London EC1A 2BN. All Rights Reserved.