Now Test
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Who is to blame?
> Delivery of kits: Day2 tests arrived on Day3 Day8 tests arrived and signed for on Day7 (according to Post Office tracking) Actually received as of Day8. (Could have been mis-delivered to a neghbour?) > Test results: Day2 tests returned to Lab (Oncologica) by a friend (instead of using Post office) on Day3. The web app then showed "Pending", apart from one test which was "Rejected". So it seems that the Lab some kind of rapid assessment of them but the results did not come back until the evening of Day10 Day8 tests again taken directly to the Lab and came back 3 days later - an improvement suggesting they may have been treated with higher priority, or the backlog is decreasing. > Comparison with competitor: Day 5 tests were ordered for part of the party from a competitor. A courier was used to get the swabs to the same (Oncologica) Lab. The results and certificates were emailed back 10 hours from swabbing! This raises a number of questions. Are the differences in service due to priority being given to Day5 (and hopefully Day8) tests over the Day2 tests? That would make some sense as I can't see what practical action occurs if someone tests positive on Day2 anyway. Or, as I suspect is more likely, is priority being given to some providers over others? Is it a question of how much you pay? Who you know? (or rather who the testing provider knows). Perhaps Oncologica are holding back the Nowtest results until they get payment? Or they are prioritizing people who book directly with them? Ultimately, I am inclined to blame the government. This seems to be their style. They seem determined to prove that the private sector is less efficient than the state for the majority of people. If you can be tested and released after the Day5 result without any need to have got a result from the Day2 test... why are people forced to book the Day2/Day8 tests in the first place? They could instead just pay for the Day5 test and the amount of work for the Labs and couriers would be halved and most people would get out of quarantine sooner. And why, if people are released into the community after passing the Day5 test, are they still required to take the Day8 test at a time when the system obviously cannot cope with the load placed on it? Back to Nowtest: Relatively minor niggles: 1. The link to track packages at the Post Office in their FAQ does not seem to work. It looks OK but (at least in the Edge browser) nothing happens when I try and submit the tracking number. Instead I have to follow the Post Office's websites tracking flow to get to a page that looks the same but actually works. 2. Multiple kits are each given a tracking number in the App but the shipping is consolidated into one package for the household... so only one tracking number gives you meaningful feedback. Using the other tracking numbers just results in you being told that the shipment is being prepared. If the packages are consolidated then so should the tracking numbers be.