London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Friday, Sep 12, 2025

Lifting Covid rules in England ‘will overwhelm testing capacity’

Lifting Covid rules in England ‘will overwhelm testing capacity’

Exclusive: Expert says 660,000 PCR tests a day will be needed if country has 100,000 daily infections

The £22bn NHS test-and-trace system risks being overwhelmed by surging Covid infections after the planned wholesale lifting of restrictions in England this month, a leading academic has warned.

Jon Deeks, a professor of biostatistics at the University of Birmingham, said at least 660,000 gold-standard PCR tests are likely to be needed each day to discover 100,000 daily infections this summer – the number forewarned by the health secretary, Sajid Javid, after the government announced plans to drop restrictions from 19 July.

This level of testing is almost three times the current rate in the UK, more than double the highest volume achieved at any point during the pandemic, and at the peak of the system’s theoretical laboratory capacity calculated this spring by the National Audit Office (NAO).

One director of public health warned that rationing may be required in the areas where contact tracing is carried out, focusing on poorer locations on the basis that residents are more likely to live in overcrowded conditions and have face-to-face jobs.

The latest data released by NHS test and trace on Thursday showed signs of the system already straining. Positive tests in England were up 71% in the last week of June – the highest number since early February – and turnaround times have increased, with the proportion of in-person test results returned in 24 hours down to 77% from 84% the previous week.

On Thursday, the UK had another 32,551 reported coronavirus cases and 35 deaths within 28 days of a positive test. It is the highest death toll since early April and the highest number of new infections since 20 January.

Ministers are now heaping further pressure on the test-and-trace system, which has a £22bn budget, by mandating that anyone who has close contact with an infected person from 16 August should take a PCR test “as soon as possible” instead of self-isolating.

“If we get to 100,000 cases a day, the capacity of our testing system is going to be breached, particularly when we build in the recommendation for testing contacts,” Deeks told the Guardian. “Plus some of the labs are being shut down, such as the turnkey lab here at the University of Birmingham.” The Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) said it has been consolidating its laboratory network.


PCR testing capacity has been reduced by more than 100,000 tests per day since the end of March, according to the NAO, but it has increased 45% in the last four weeks.

On Thursday, Dr Jenny Harries, the chief executive of the UK Health and Security Agency, who is now in charge of NHS test and trace, told MPs that current laboratory capacity was “peaking”. She said the sharp rise in cases is also “overstretching” local contact tracing capacity.

She said private labs would now be used as “part of the planned step-up” in capacity to tackle the growing demand. A DHSC-owned “mega-lab” built at Leamington Spa has started operating, but will only reach capacity “in the coming months”.

Directors of public health have also warned the accelerating spread of the Delta coronavirus variant in recent weeks means their capacity to reach infected people and gather information about their contacts is close to its limit.

“I am struggling to think how [the system] can cope with 100,000 cases a day,” said Greg Fell, the director of public health for Sheffield city council, which contacts people who have tested positive to instruct them to isolate, gather contacts and offer support. “We have seen a massive increase in cases over recent days and that’s only going to go one way. We are getting close to capacity now.”

One director said local teams were “despondent” and added: “I don’t see how test and trace will cope with 100,000 cases a day, if I’m honest.”

Lorna Smith, Newcastle’s deputy director of public health, said: “The system could not cope with that number using a test and trace approach and a lack of other restrictions or guidance in place. That level of transmission has serious implications for our health system … [with] a significant proportion of unvaccinated adults that we still need to reach.” Some 53% of adults in Newcastle have still not had two doses.

Harries told MPs on Thursday that some councils have already hit contract tracing capacity and are handing cases over to the centralised system. But she said she anticipated new cases peaking in the middle of August when 75% of the population should be double jabbed.

Greg Clark, the Conservative chairman of the Commons science and technology committee, said: “Now we have surging infections ... a lot rests on test and trace in the future, and the record over the last year has not been one of reliable springing into life to wrestle this virus to the ground.”

Deeks based his estimate of the required capacity on the testing needs at the peak of the pandemic in the second week of January, when 300,000 PCR tests were deployed each day to find 45,000 cases. More recently the number of tests required to find a case has increased, meaning his estimate may be conservative.

Labour said it appeared the government had not learned from mistakes last autumn when people were sent hundreds of miles for tests “because of a failure to anticipate increased demand for tests”.

“This coupled with the winding down of the contract tracing service earlier this year leaves us dangerously exposed at a time when the government seems hell bent on maximising the risk,” said Justin Madders, a shadow health minister.

A DHSC spokesperson said: “We continuously review our laboratory requirements as the pandemic progresses. NHS test and trace continues to be a central part of our roadmap to return life to normal, and our new UK Health Security Agency will consolidate the enormous expertise that now exists across our health system to help us face down future threats and viruses.”

Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Turkish authorities seize leading broadcaster amid fraud and tax investigation
Volkswagen launches aggressive strategy to fend off Chinese challenge in Europe’s EV market
ChatGPT CEO signals policy to alert authorities over suicidal youth after teen’s death
The British legal mafia hit back: Banksy mural of judge beating protester is scrubbed from London court
Surpassing Musk: Larry Ellison becomes the richest man in the world
Embarrassment for Starmer: He fired the ambassador photographed on Epstein’s 'pedophile island'
Manhunt after 'skilled sniper' shot Charlie Kirk. Footage: Suspect running on rooftop during panic
Effective Protest Results: Nepal’s Prime Minister Resigns as Youth-Led Unrest Shakes the Nation
Qatari prime minister says Netanyahu ‘killed any hope’ for Israeli hostages
King Charles and Prince Harry Share First In-Person Moment in 19 Months
Starmer Establishes Economic ‘Budget Board’ to Centralise Policy and Rebuild Business Trust
France Erupts in Mass ‘Block Everything’ Protests on New PM’s First Day
Poland Shoots Down Russian Drones in Airspace Violation During Ukraine Attack
Brazilian police say ex-President Bolsonaro had planned to flee to Argentina seeking asylum
Trinidad Leader Applauds U.S. Naval Strike and Advocates Forceful Action Against Traffickers
Kim Jong Un Oversees Final Test of New High-Thrust Solid-Fuel Rocket Engine
Apple Introduces Ultra-Thin iPhone Air, Enhanced 17 Series and New Health-Focused Wearables
Macron Appoints Sébastien Lecornu as Prime Minister Amid Budget Crisis and Political Turmoil
Supreme Court temporarily allows Trump to pause billions in foreign aid
Charlie Sheen says his father, Martin Sheen, turned him in to the police: 'The greatest betrayal possible'
Vatican hosts first Catholic LGBTQ pilgrimage
Apple Unveils iPhone 17 Series, iPhone Air, Apple Watch 11 and More at 'Awe Dropping' Event
Pig Heads Left Outside Multiple Paris Mosques in Outrage-Inducing Acts
Nvidia’s ‘Wow’ Factor Is Fading. The AI chip giant used to beat Wall Street expectations for earnings by a substantial margin. That trajectory is coming down to earth.
France joins Eurozone’s ‘periphery’ as turmoil deepens, say investors
On the Anniversary of Queen Elizabeth’s Death: Prince Harry Returns to Britain
France Faces New Political Crisis, again, as Prime Minister Bayrou Pushed Out
Murdoch Family Finalises $3.3 Billion Succession Pact, Ensuring Eldest Son’s Leadership
Big Oil Slashes Jobs and Investments Amid Prolonged Low Crude Prices
Court Staff Cover Up Banksy Image of Judge Beating a Protester
Social Media Access Curtailed in Turkey After CHP Calls for Rallies Following Police Blockade of Istanbul Headquarters
Nayib Bukele Points Out Belgian Hypocrisy as Brussels Considers Sending Army into the Streets
Elon Musk Poised to Become First Trillionaire Under Ambitious Tesla Pay Plan
France, at an Impasse, Heads Toward Another Government Collapse
Burning the Minister’s House Helped Protesters to Win Justice: Prabowo Fires Finance Minister in Wake of Indonesia Protests
Brazil Braces for Fallout from Bolsonaro Trial by corrupted judge
The Country That Got Too Rich? Public Spending Dominates Norway Election
Nearly 40 Years Later: Nike Changes the Legendary Slogan Just Do It
Generations Born After 1939 Unlikely to Reach Age One Hundred, New Study Finds
End to a four-year manhunt in New Zealand: the father who abducted his children to the forests was killed, the three siblings were found
Germany Suspends Debt Rules, Funnels €500 Billion Toward Military and Proxy War Strategy
EU Prepares for War
BMW Eyes Growth in China with New All‑Electric Neue Klasse Lineup
Trump Threatens Retaliatory Tariffs After EU Imposes €2.95 Billion Fine on Google
Tesla Board Proposes Unprecedented One-Trillion-Dollar Performance Package for Elon Musk
US Justice Department Launches Criminal Mortgage-Fraud Probe into Federal Reserve Governor Lisa Cook
Escalating Drug Trafficking and Violence in Latin America: A Growing Crisis
US and Taiwanese Defence Officials Held Secret Talks in Alaska
Report: Secret SEAL Team 6 Mission in North Korea Ordered by Trump in 2019 Ended in Failure
Gold Could Reach Nearly $5,000 if Fed Independence Is Undermined, Goldman Sachs Warns
×