UK govt apologies as COVID-19 test booking site crashes within hours

The UK government on Friday issued an apology after its website for coronavirus test bookings was shut down within three hours of going live due to an overwhelming demand.

Health Secretary Matt Hancock on Thursday announced plans to ramp up testing for the deadly virus within the British public at the daily Downing Street briefing, saying any key worker requiring a test would be able to book one from Friday.

This was expected to cover up to 10 million essential workers and their families, who were invited to apply for a drive-in swab test or home-testing kit.

There has been significant demand for booking tests today (Friday). We apologise for any inconvenience, the Department of Health and Social Care said as the site stopped taking additional bookings.

We are continuing to rapidly increase availability. More tests will be available tomorrow (Saturday), it said.

Those who are eligible to register for a test include the NHS and social care workers, police officers, teachers, those in the justice system, supermarket and food production workers, journalists and transport workers.

Previously, a smaller group of key workers whose work is deemed critical to the COVID-19 response were eligible for testing.

Downing Street said 5,000 home testing kits were ordered in the first two minutes of the website going live and that about 15,000 tests were booked to take place on Friday at drive-through sites across the UK.

Many of those who did get through the booking link got a message which said the home testing kit allocation for the day has been exhausted and were invited to head to a nearest drive-through test centre.

The government has set a target of 100,000 tests a day for the end of this month, which seems unlikely to be met given the current constraints.

Thursday's figures showed 23,560 tests were carried out, though Hancock insisted that the capacity had been increased to 51,000 per day.

Under the plans being put in place, home testing kits would be collected by courier and would initially start in small numbers before the service grows.

A help desk has been established to aid the process, while mobile units run by the Army are travelling around the country where they are needed, such as care homes.

The test involves taking a swab of the nose and the back of the throat, with a majority of the results back within 24 hours by text and added to their medical record so that their doctor is informed.

Key workers who are unable to access the government's website will still be able to apply for a test, as employers are able to book on behalf of their staff.

So far, hospitals have been carrying out tests, along with a network of about 30 drive-through centres in car parks, airports and sports grounds.

These are set for a scale up to increase the capacity for tests.

As part of the testing ramp up, aimed at getting Britain back on her feet, the government is committed to recruit 18,000 people to trace those who had been in contact with those infected.

The new policy has been termed a "test, track and trace" system ahead of easing the lockdown measures and allowing essential staff to safely return to work.