Professor Anthony Staines:

Mass testing is not feasible. We do not have the resources to do it and it is an impractical step. We are stuck with identifying people who have symptoms. This will be very important because the tests we use are about 70% accurate. If someone has symptoms, even if the tests are negative, particularly now when influenza is rather low, we should be aggressive about saying that this person probably has Covid-19. My clinical colleagues tell me that the clinical picture is quite distinct. It is the speed of chasing the contacts of that person, identifying them, getting them to isolate and testing them that brings the rate to zero. We are doing this much faster than we were doing it but it is not yet fast enough. There are too many people where it is taking too long to trace the contacts. We are also having a problem where some contacts decline to engage with testing. That is partly about messaging and changing people’s behaviour. It is also partly about reassuring people, as Professor Michie articulated, that they will not lose money if they are tested and have to isolate. This is a real and very legitimate concern for many people.