the times | Saturday January 1 2022 15News
People who are positive for coronavirus
on a lateral flow test will no longer be
able to check the result with a PCR test
under plans to create the capacity for
laboratories to deal with soaring cases.
Most people who test positive on a
lateral flow device would instead be told
to isolate for at least seven days without
confirmation. The proposal is support-
ed by scientists because rising infection
rates reduce the risk of false positives.
Officials have blamed distributors for
test kit shortages, saying supplies
should return to normal next week. The
healthcare firm responsible for sending
lateral flow tests to pharmacies
received 2.5 million tests on December
24 and then closed for a “planned
Christmas break”.
About 1.5 million tests a day are being
carried out in Britain, one of the highest
rates in the world, on lateral flow
devices or lab-based PCR machines.
PCR capacity is coming under strain
as cases rise, with 600,000 PCR tests on
Thursday. The labs also face staff short-
ages as a result of Covid-19.
Plans are being drawn up in govern-
ment to prioritise the clinically vulner-
able and key workers for PCR tests if
laboratory capacity proves inadequate.
NHS staff and delivery drivers are
likely to be included on what is said to
be a “more targeted” list of critical staff
than last year’s definition of a key work-
er. However, ministers hope that such
rationing will not be needed.
A more imminent change is to drop
the guidance saying that people who
get a positive lateral flow test should
confirm the result by PCR. Govern-
ment scientists argue that as the back-
ground rate of infection rises, with 1 in
25 people having Covid, the chances of
a false positive result fall substantially.
They have recommended a change
that would free up substantial PCR
capacity and updated guidance could
come next week. The move is being
held up by wrangling within govern-
ment about exemptions for people who
need to prove they have tested positive.
These include people who want to
apply for a £500 self-isolation grant and
the clinically vulnerable, who can be
sent antiviral drugs to take at home if
they catch Covid. Both groups are likely
to remain able to get a PCR test. People
with symptoms of Covid will also re-
main eligible for PCR tests under the
plans, which are being finalised.
Ministers are confident that they
have enough lateral flow tests coming
through, with 300 million due to be
delivered this month and next.
Pharmacy staff have reported being
abused by customers who were unable
to obtain tests this week.
Alliance Healthcare is the company
responsible for delivering lateral flow
tests to pharmacies, who can order one
carton of tests per day.
The wholesale and distribution com-
pany was sold by the owner of Boots,
Walgreens Boots Alliance, in June to
the US drug wholesaler Amerisource-
Bergen for £4.6 billion.
In a notice published on its website
on Thursday, the Pharmaceutical Ser-
vices Negotiating Committee, which
represents NHS pharmacy contrac-tors, said: “On 24th December, 2.5 mil-
lion tests were sent to Alliance Health-
care. That stock was ready to be deliv-
ered yesterday (29th December) when
Alliance Healthcare re-opened after its
planned Christmas break, and it repre-
sents c.357,000 individual packs of
7 tests and just over 6,000 cartons.”
A further 6.2 million tests were ex-
pected to have been sent by yesterday.
A government source said that short-
ages in independent pharmacies was a
result of deliveries having “closed down
for Christmas”.
Leyla Hannbeck, chief executive of
the Association of Independent Multi-
ple Pharmacies, said there had been a
failure to plan for increased demand
when new rules made daily flow tests a
must for contacts of positive cases.
Increased mingling at Christmas and
new year should have been foreseen,
she added.
“I’m keeping my fingers crossed that
the government is listening to us and
sorting it out,” she said. “School is start-
ing and people want to get back to
normality, and they are reliant on these
test kits to be able to get out, particular-
ly NHS teams.”
Alliance Healthcare redirected ques-
tions to the UK Health Security Agen-
cy. It said: “We are delivering record
numbers of lateral flow tests to pharma-
cies across the country, with almost 8
million test kits being made available to
pharmacies between December 29 and
New Year’s Eve.”South Africa
lifts curbs as
wave retreats
World update
Global cases
286,540,Global deaths
5,429,Countries reporting most deathsMost new casesUS
Brazil
India
Russia
Mexico
Peru
UK
Indonesia1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8Data supplied by Johns Hopkins University. US data fluctuates because of irregular reporting by different states. Figures as of 6pm
yesterday. Sources: UK government, Our World in Data, selected countries1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
206,824,647,161,76,
50,
42,619,
481,
301,
299,
202,
148,Deaths per million populationRank Now Jan 31
1 , 234
1,
1,43 1
1 , 296
1 , 367
797
1,5 23
949
1 , 225
836
1, 048
1 , 057
1,30 9
1,
1 , 5556,
4,
4,
4,
3,
3,
3,
3,
3,
3,
2,
2,
2,
2,
2,Peru
Bulgaria
Bosnia & Herz.
Hungary
N. Macedonia
Georgia
Czech Rep
Romania
Croatia
Slovakia
Brazil
Argentina
US
Italy
UK1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 910
11
15
18
25
26( 16 )
( 13 )
( 7 )
( 14 )
( 10 )
(40)
(5)
( 178 )
( 17 )
(37)
( 31 )
( 23 )
( 11 )
( 6 )
( 4 )
144,189,127,US
France
UK
Spain
Italy
Turkey
Argentina
Germanytransmission of the Omicron
variant of Covid-19, tied to an
airline crew member who had
returned from the United States and
lunched at a restaurant two days
later. Two other people eating at theMoon Palace restaurant on
Monday were infected. One was
the father of the Cathay Pacific
crew member and the other was a
construction worker dining about
30 feet away.south africa
Bar and restaurant owners made
hurried plans for celebrations as a
22-month curfew and curbs on
alcohol sales were lifted to signal
the retreat of the Omicron variant.
A senior health official described
the outbreak as more “flash flood”
than fourth wave as data showed
that infections had dropped by 30
per cent last week compared with
the previous week.israel
The rollout of fourth doses of
vaccine began with heart and lung
transplant patients in Tel Aviv. The
extra dose will be given to those
with weakened immune systems
and care home residents and staff
as Israel steps up measures against
Omicron.hong kong
The territory has confirmed the
first cases of communityHow Britain compares
Percentage of population who have
received at least one vaccine dose
(total doses administered in
brackets)Daily
(Dec 30)
First dose
33,Boosters
(Dec 30)
397,Second
47.4mSecond
44,Total
33.9mFirst dose
51.8mPeople
vaccinated
99.0% (22.4m) in UK
90.3% (19.2m)
85.9% (1.1m)
84.8% (86.2m)83.3% (68.4m)
80.1% (110.9m)79.3% (42.6m)
78.2% (123m)
76.2% (133.1m)
Figures as of 6pm yesterday
Source: Our World in Data (latest figures available) and
gov.uk. Note: Selected countries. No update available for
vaccinations in Scotland and Wales.UAE
Portugal
MaltaSpain
Canada
Italy
AustraliaFrance
UKNews
treated primarily for Covid
PCR tests cancelled
for millions to ease
pressure inside labs
Chris Smyth, Kat LayRaceday yesterday. All had to provide a Covid pass to get in. Masks were encouraged but far from compulsorySIMON MARPER/PATesting
Covid-19 tests per thousands people in
selected European countries, 7-day
rolling averageAustriaItalyUKSource: Our World in DataJan Apr Jul Oct 2021010203040506070GreecePortugal
Sweden GermanyFrance