Sajid Javid: Limits on ordering Covid tests linked to delivery capacity

Sajid Javid said there are currently 10 confirmed people in England who have been admitted to hospital with Omicron, adding to MPs: “It’s vital we remember that hospitalisations and deaths lag infections by around two weeks so we can expect those numbers to dramatically increase in the days and weeks that lie ahead.

“In preparation, the UK’s four chief medical officers raised the Covid alert level to four, its second highest level, this was done over the weekend."

“And NHS England has just announced that it will return to its highest level of emergency preparedness, level four national incident."

“This means the NHS response to Omicron will be coordinated as a national effort rather than led by individual trusts.”

The Health Secretary also said he will have “more to say” soon on whether people who have had a booster jab will continue to be required to wait for 15 minutes after their vaccine, following concerns that this is causing queues outside GP surgeries.

Conservative former minister Sir Iain Duncan Smith said: “I spoke this morning to GPs in my constituency. I asked them what is the one thing you would like the Secretary of State to do now if you have got to get all these people through.

“And they said ‘Do we really need to have the 15-minute wait?’ Can we end that and we would triple our way through this and you would get it going straight away?”

Sajid Javid replied: “It is being very actively looked at and I will have something more to say on that, I am sure, very, very shortly.”

Health Secretary Sajid Javid said limits on ordering tests are linked to delivery capacity, and said new arrangements have been reached with Amazon and others.

Mr Javid said: “There is no shortage of actual tests that are held by UKHSA. There are tens of millions of tests…. the issue, the limiting factor because of the hugely increased demand… is the ability to deliver the tests and having enough capability to deliver the tests because the current arrangements with Royal Mail alone are not enough.

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

He said a record number of tests would be delivered each day, and the number of “access points” is being increased including more through pharmacies.