Government Cheats Covid Test Numbers to Hit 100,000 Target
The government has switched up how it counts Covid-19 tests, all to smash the coveted target of 100,000 tests a day by the end of April, insiders have revealed.
Tests Counted Before They’re Even Done
Before, only tests processed in labs made the official tally. Now, the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) counts tests as soon as they’re posted or delivered to homes — before anyone has even returned a sample.
Our sources say on April 30 alone, up to 50,000 tests logged will actually just be kits sent to people, not completed tests.
Testing Figures Skyrocket—But Are They Real?
- Government reports a jump from 23,560 tests on April 23 to 81,611 on April 30.
- 27,000 home testing kits were posted in a single day, pushing the numbers up.
One insider described the push to hit 100,000 daily tests as “manic,” claiming Health Secretary Matt Hancock is “obsessed” with meeting the target. “They’re trying every trick in the book,” the source added.
Pillars of Testing Under Scrutiny
Testing falls under five “pillars” in the government strategy, but most figures come from:
- Pillar One: Lab tests at Public Health England and NHS hospitals
- Pillar Two: Community swab tests, including home test kits delivered by firms like Amazon
The rapid spike in home kits output has been described as a “massive one-day mission” by Amazon and Royal Mail — and not a sustainable practice.
New Testing Programmes Launching Under Pillar Four
The government recently kicked off two new schemes:
- Imperial College-led programme: Sending 100,000 home test kits nationwide, with 25,000 dispatched just yesterday.
- Population tracking scheme: Led by DHSC and the Office for National Statistics, working with University of Oxford and others to monitor the virus across the country.
While earlier Pillar Four tests have barely started—only 1,150 completed as of Wednesday—the government expects these new programmes to ramp up testing numbers soon.
Official testing stats for yesterday are due later today. The DHSC has been contacted for comment but remains tight-lipped.
