Is the Covid-19 testing regime fit for purpose?

I TRIED for three days to book a Covid-19 test for my nine-year-old daughter before I got an appointment for 4.30pm at a site 80 miles away in Wales. But when we arrived, we discovered it had closed for the day at lunchtime. A four-hour round trip for nothing. I am not just a concerned mother, but a nurse. Does the Government really expect people to stay at home for two weeks with no confirmation one way or another? I was told about a private testing site where you pay £50 for a Covid test and to find out if you have antibodies, indicating you’ve had the virus. Negative results were delivered in 15 minutes. The fact we had to pay to receive such a vital service is a disgrace.

LAUREN MORRIS, Lichfield, Staffs.

MY SON is a police officer and is off work waiting for a test. He spent a day trying to book an appointment without success. The situation is farcical: how many people have given up waiting and could be out there spreading the virus?

AVARANT GIBSON, Lawford, Essex.

WHY do people who need a Covid test have to travel miles? Why can’t GP surgeries carry them out? My son, who is a key worker, had a negative test, but still could not return to work because he had been in contact with someone who had tested positive. He was told he could be in the incubation period and would have to self-isolate for 14 days. Luckily, a second test was negative.

J. ROWE, Princes Risborough, Bucks.

MY GRANDDAUGHTER has a sore throat and the GP advised that she should have a Covid test. The family spent hours trying to get an appointment — according to the official website, nothing was available in their area. Eventually they got a home test kit and now the whole family has to isolate until they get the results. Both parents work and will lose pay. How can Health Secretary Matt Hancock claim thousands of tests a day can be processed when it is virtually impossible to book one? The system appears to be failing.

CHERRY TANNER, Eastleigh, Hants.

UNLIKE Malaga airport, where there was track and trace and my temperature was checked, there was nothing on my return home from holiday at Manchester airport. Not even the Covid paperwork was examined. Is there any wonder infections are on the increase?

MICHAEL R. DEARNALEY, Mexborough, S. Yorks.

THE Covid-19 testing system is a world-class shambles.

DAVID GORDON, Romiley, Cheshire.