tele30 Dec 2021 06:10
British firms have been asked to ramp up the production of testing kits despite the Government insisting for weeks that any shortages of tests were caused by distribution, not supply. It is the first time since the early months of the testing programme that ministers have admitted supplies are insufficient.
But industry sources told The Telegraph it would take weeks, not days, to significantly increase production because the manufacturing process is so complicated.
One source said there was "panic" at the Department of Health and Social Care over the gulf between supply and demand as officials scrambled to source swabs, saline tubes and other components of testing kits that are in short supply.
Demand for tests is outstripping supply partly because of the highly transmissible omicron variant and because people visiting relatives over Christmas wanted to do so safely, but also because people who test positive can now leave isolation after a week if they have negative lateral flow tests on days six and seven.