Matt Hancock says COVID test issues will take ‘weeks’ to fix as MPs accuse government of ‘fiasco’ – Yahoo Finance UK

The government has admitted its coronavirus testing issues will take weeks to solve.

Health secretary Matt Hancock has been accused of presiding over a fiasco amid signs of massive strain on the testing system.

Issues have included huge queues for tests, people reporting they have been unable to get tests, and others being offered tests hundreds of miles from their homes.

It has meant suspected COVID-19 patients with acute medical needs, as well as people in care homes, will now be prioritised under plans to ration tests.

Hancock was summoned to the House of Commons on Tuesday to answer an urgent question on the situation.

He was invited by his predecessor, Jeremy Hunt, to assure the testing problems would be solved in a weeks time.

However, Hancock would only say: We will be able to solve this problem in a matter of weeks.

In [Hunts] own constituency yesterday 194 people got their tests. So we are managing to deliver record capacity but as he well knows, demand is also high and the response to that is to make sure we have prioritisation, so that the people who most need it can get tests that they need.

People queuing for a walk-in testing centre in Bolton last week. (AFP via Getty Images)

Among the examples MPs fired at Hancock were:

Labours shadow health secretary Jon Ashworth accused Hancock of losing control of this virus as he said: People want to know when they will get a test and when this mess will be fixed.

Today there will be thousands of ill people trying to book a test only to be told none are available.

When will ill people no longer have to travel hundreds of miles for a test that should be available on their doorstep?

Hancock, who has been accused by Labour MPs of overseeing a complete fiasco and shambles, countered: When you have a free service, its inevitable that demand rises. The challenge is to make sure we prioritise the tests we have as a nation to those who most need it.

He also claimed the average distance travelled to a test site is now 5.8 miles, down from 6.4 miles last week.

Figures on Monday showed 2,621 confirmed new infections, with Hancock acknowledging the epidemic is growing.

On Monday, the governments rule of six coronavirus law came into force, banning most social gatherings of more than six people in England.

However, confusion continued to reign on Tuesday over the ban on mingling, with home secretary Priti Patel accused of not understanding her own laws by a human rights barrister after she wrongly said two families of four stopping for a chat on the way to the park constituted illegal mingling.

Meanwhile, a top officer toldGood Morning Britainthat officers were still unsure how to uphold the new law, whichbans any social gatherings of over six people.

Click here to sign up to the latest news and information with our daily Catch-up newsletter

Read more here:

Matt Hancock says COVID test issues will take 'weeks' to fix as MPs accuse government of 'fiasco' - Yahoo Finance UK