Lack of Lateral Flow Testing: Where to Get Testing in Suffolk

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Publication date: 5:56 PM December 13, 2021

Updated: 6:04 PM December 13, 2021

People were unable to order lateral flow tests from the government website due to “exceptionally high demand”, but the prime minister insisted there was no shortage of tests.

On Monday (December 13), the government website showed anyone trying to order rapid coronavirus tests advising them to send a “try again later” message or book an appointment at a coronavirus testing site instead.

A spokesperson for the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) said the letter had been shown as deliveries had been paused “to meet existing orders”.

In a statement to the House of Commons on Monday afternoon, Health Minister Sajid Javid explained that the problems were linked to delivery capacity, adding that new arrangements had been reached with Amazon and others.

Mr Javid said: “There is no shortage of actual tests being conducted by the UKHSA. There are tens of millions of tests. The problem – the limiting factor due to exponentially increased demand – is the ability to conduct the tests and to have sufficient capacity to deliver the tests as the current arrangements with Royal Mail alone are not sufficient .

“There are new arrangements I’ve reached with Amazon and other delivery methods.”

The prime minister, Boris Johnson, also sought to reassure the public that the government had enough lateral flow tests to meet, saying there was a “ready supply of lateral flow tests”.

“If you can’t get one online for any reason, there are plenty of supplies in stores,” he said.

“But what I think, if I may say so, what that also shows is that people do the reasonable thing, and get tested too.”

The comment comes less than 24 hours after it was announced that daily testing would be mandatory for people who have been double-wounded and come into contact with someone with coronavirus.

To find out where in Suffolk and North Essex you can collect lateral flow tests from click here.

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