Testing

Testing will be a corner stone for future progress. It will require to be done rapidly and efficiently limited by the availability of testing kits and then laboratory capacity, both of which you would hope are being expanded. To facilitate this a support staff of administrators, actual testers and a transport system that can meet the demand will be essential.
I think that the individual healthboards / regions should be the ideal organisers.
Starting with the GP surgeries they would have be able to identify their at risk groups, care homes, specific age risk groups , diabetics, high blood pressure, high BMI.
Their were many volunteers at the start who could be retrained to act as testers, transporters for their local areas or focussed on areas that turnout to be hotspots.
By doing it regionally local knowledge and involvement would be beneficial.

Why the contribution is important

Allows local involvement at targeting risk groups, hotspots and contribution to the national picture.

by Dawr on May 05, 2020 at 02:10PM

Current Rating

Average rating: 4.5
Based on: 2 votes

Comments

  • Posted by IanB May 05, 2020 at 14:28

    We shouldn't be thinking about reopening until we can test every symptomatic patient, and ideally offer weekly screening tests to everyone in close contact with anyone else.

  • Posted by ImranL May 05, 2020 at 14:34

    I think it will be impossible to test everybody that is symptomatic. We need to test a representative sample of the population to understand the prevalence of the virus in the community. I think frontline healthcare workers, social workers, key workers, and Care home staff need testing as well as PPE to reduce transmission.

    Regional health boards should be empowered to do the testing and tracing contacts.

  • Posted by Peterj May 05, 2020 at 15:00

    Some industries use air sampling to detect the presence of contaminants in working areas, with the sampled air being drawn through a filter designed to accumulate any contaminants present in the local environment. Could a similar technique be used as means of routinely checking indoor working environments and school classrooms for the presence of Covid 19 viruses.
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