Coronavirus testing and the fantasy of a  moonshot mission | Letters

Readers express their frustration with the utter shambles of England ’s test-and-trace regimeDespite what Matt Hancock says, there just aren ’t enough tests available (Report, 15 September). There are still no routine tests for medical professionals and other frontline services. Paramedics I have spoken to in Liverpool have been tested only once in the past six months and attend emergencies not knowing whether they are virus-free. They have colleagues who have caught Covid and some have died. It is unacceptable to put them at risk like this.Barry KushnerLabour councillor, Liverpool• Stories of symptomatic people being offered tests hundreds of miles from their homes hardly inspire confidence in the government’s test-and-trace efforts, let alone the proposed 10m daily tests of Operation Moonshot (‘We just need the system to work’: fresh reports of Covid test problems in England, 9 September). And these are just the symptomatic cases. Without universal testing to gauge the number of asymptomatic cases, we will not have any alternative to more lockdowns.Phil CoughlinHoughton-le-Spring, Tyne& WearContinue reading...
Source: Guardian Unlimited Science - Category: Science Authors: Tags: Coronavirus outbreak Boris Johnson Matt Hancock Infectious diseases Politics Medical research Vaccines and immunisation Health Society France Health policy Source Type: news