Businesses warn that the testing crisis will undermine UK PLC
Business leaders have written an open letter to the government warning that if it does not improve coronavirus testing and control soon, the economy will suffer long-term damage. Industry leaders lambast officials for what they see as a lack of direction and told them to “get a grip” of the situation.
Ministers floated the idea of a test and trace system as far back as March. Yet over the last five months, troubles marred the programme. Even today, members of the public with coronavirus symptoms report challenges obtaining a swab.
Photo by Polina Tankilevitch from Pexels
Compounding the problem are surging case rates in England and Wales over the past week. The number of cases topped 4,000 on September 18, a figure not seen since the peak of the crisis in April. The higher numbers are making it challenging to provide enough test kits and personnel to mobile sites around the country. Reports suggest some people did not receive the promised tests for COVID-19, even after driving more than one hundred miles.
Business leaders worry that a second national lockdown will adversely affect businesses and “cripple” the UK economy for years to come.
British Chambers of Commerce representative and general direction Adam Marshall told the government that they needed to immediately improve the programme or risk the economy shedding millions of jobs over the coming months.
According to the BCC, the coming autumn will be a fragile time for the UK economy. Many companies are still getting back on their feet. If the government forces the nation into a second lockdown to blunt the current virus wave, it will undo much of the work that’s already been done.
Traditionally businesses cover their risks with professional indemnity or public liability insurance. But in the case of COVID-19, the central issue is demand-side. In major cities like London and Glasgow, footfall is less than a fifth of pre-crisis levels in some high street areas, squeezing business in the process.
Photo by Polina Tankilevitch from Pexels
The UK needs a truly comprehensive track-and-trace programme if it is to navigate the virus without further lockdowns damaging already-beleaguered businesses.
The UK’s test and trace system was doing well at the start of September. According to data collected by the Financial Times, around 63 per cent of people who wanted a swap were able to get one on the same day. Once schools returned, however, that figure dropped to just 8 per cent.
The business community has called the latest data as profoundly disappointing. There’s a growing feeling that the private sector is doing its part to control the spread of infection, but the government is not doing theirs. Companies have had to close – sometimes for weeks at a time – and yet the authorities seem unable to put a test and trace system in place to catch infections before they spread through the community.
Companies understand that the only way to deal with the virus in the absence of a vaccine is to isolate the infected at home to reduce the spread of the disease. If the government does not do that, then small business owners will never regain their conference.
