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A few points worth making about Liverpool's mass testing operation...
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This is a pilot study, the very nature of this is to try and provide information on what has worked and what hasn't to inform future testing plans
The more people that get tested, the better this data and analysis will be
The more people that get tested, the better this data and analysis will be
This is being purposefully carried out during a national lockdown when people aren't mixing and socialising
Therefore a negative test is not giving people carte blanche to go and party the night away, as some are suggesting
Therefore a negative test is not giving people carte blanche to go and party the night away, as some are suggesting
PCR testing (the original type of testing) is still largely being done on those with symptoms in Liverpool, while those without symptoms are using the Lateral Flow quick tests
Therefore it is to be expected that the positive PCR results in Liverpool far outweigh the positive results from the asymptomatic Lateral Flow testing
We would of course expect more people with symptoms of covid-19 to have it than those who don't have symptoms
We would of course expect more people with symptoms of covid-19 to have it than those who don't have symptoms
This is a point Guido Fawkes helped me address earlier (never thought I'd say that) https://order-order.com/2020/11/17/no-lateral-flow-tests-do-not-showing-80-fewer-cases-in-liverpool/
There will be lots of learning taken from this PILOT study and the university's academics will be analysing the results and reporting back
No one is saying this is the panacea - it is a learning experience that hopefully will lead to improvements in how testing is carried out
No one is saying this is the panacea - it is a learning experience that hopefully will lead to improvements in how testing is carried out
But if it can identify hundreds of asymptomatic cases in Liverpool at the same time and those people are encouraged to isolate and be extra careful - then the city stands a chance of breaking even more potential transmission chains and can keep bringing its infection rate down
