Government Tweaks Covid Test Counting to Hit 100,000 Target
The government has switched up how it counts Covid-19 tests, all to hit its headline goal of 100,000 tests a day by the end of April, we can reveal.
Counting Tests Before They’re Done
Until recently, only tests processed in labs were counted. Now, the Department of Health and Social Care includes tests sent out to people’s homes, even before anyone has taken or returned a sample.
A senior source said up to 50,000 of the tests reported on April 30 will actually be home kits mailed out, not completed swabs.
The government’s figures jumped from 23,560 on April 23 to 81,611 just seven days later. The source described the scramble to reach 100,000 tests per day as “manic”.
“Matt Hancock is obsessed with hitting the target. They are trying every trick in the book,” the insider said.
They revealed the permanent secretary at DHSC, Chris Wormald, had to approve the counting change. “We’re now counting home tests as soon as they’re sent out,” the source added.
Behind the Pillars of Testing
Covid testing falls under five government “pillars.” Most testing comes from Pillar One—labs run by Public Health England and NHS hospitals—and Pillar Two, which includes community testing sites and home kits delivered by firms like Amazon.
Yesterday alone, around 27,000 home test kits were posted out as part of Pillar Two. These kits will count in today’s numbers yet to be revealed.
The source warned: “This approach is unsustainable. It was just a massive one-day push by Amazon and Royal Mail.”
New Pillar Four Programmes Add to the Mix
The government recently launched two big testing initiatives under Pillar Four, aiming to send hundreds of thousands of home testing kits nationwide.
One scheme, led by Imperial College and Ipsos Mori, will send out 100,000 kits to monitor infection levels. About 25,000 kits went out yesterday alone, though only 1,150 tests had been completed under this programme by Wednesday.
The other Pillar Four project, run by DHSC and the Office for National Statistics with help from Oxford University, is tracking coronavirus spread in the general public.
Figures Due Today
Official testing numbers for yesterday will be announced later today.
The Department of Health and Social Care has been contacted for comment.
