With it being impossible to order a lateral flow test, and tedious at best to book in for a PCR test, you could be forgiven for finding the Covid-19 testing process a hastle - but new guidance urging people to get tested to slow the spread of the Omicron variant makes it a necessary process.
With contacts of those infected with the new mutation being required to take a lateral flow test daily for a fortnight rather than self-isolating, and people heading out for Christmas parties urged to take one of the rapid tests before leaving the house, the inability to get these speedy tests delivered is unsurprisingly causing some issues.
After the Government website briefly showed no PCR tests available in the country, and screenshots emerged showing tests available in some regions, the Manchester Evening News decided to try booking a test in every borough to see what was really going on.
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Reporter Kit Vickery grabbed a coffee, and opened the Government web page shortly after 2pm.
After putting in a city centre postcode, and going through a series of questions, selecting that the test was for an essential worker whose symptoms started on Monday December 13, the moment of truth finally came at around 2.10pm.
The closest drive through test site was the Gamesley Sports and Community Centre 13.6 miles away in Glossop, which paradoxically stated it was pedestrian only and had no vehicle access, with a handful of appointments available between 2.30-3pm, barely enough time to get to the site.
According to the website, the next closest site that could definitely accommodate vehicles was the Rawtenstall mobile unit 18.9 miles away, but it offered the same limited appointment slot.
Anyone without a car would need to take themselves to the walk-through site on Moston Albine Street, three miles away from the selected postcode, which strictly instructs people to avoid using public transport or taxis to reach the testing area.
Moving onto Bolton , we selected the town hall postcode, which offered a walk-through site 5.8 miles away in the Old Baths Car Park, or Pleasington Playing Fields in Blackburn 15.7 miles away for drivers.
After that, the attempt got a lot more difficult, with tests becoming extremely hard to get your hands on,
You could almost see the appointments disappearing before your eyes, as the website updated to show Lancashire as the only part of the country with any appointments still available.
Pleasington Playing Fields became the closest site for every borough, with residents also having the option of travelling over 50 miles to Deeside for an appointment if the remaining appointment times were unsuitable.
At around 2.25pm, after every borough had been checked and the form resubmitted to confirm the testing issues weren't caused by cookies saved from the first searches, a number of appointments landed on the site for Wednesday, December 15, allowing people to book ahead.
By now, most boroughs were offering appointments at walk-through testing sites less than a mile away from the central postcodes chosen for this exercise.
However, people in the centre of Bury would need to walk 3.2 miles to their closest site at Rochdale Heywood, with a postcode in Sale also telling residents without a car that they'd need to hike 4.7 miles to their closest testing site at Trafford Park.
People without their own vehicle in the centre of Tameside would need to walk 1.5 miles to the walk-through site in Ashton-Under-Lyne.
Although many appointments for tomorrow morning had been released online, there were still some issues accessing testing when we checked.
Only two drive-through sites appeared to be available at this time, the Manchester Etihad and Chapel Lane Car Park in Wigan.
Whilst most areas were within 10 miles of one of these sites, people living in the centre of Bolton would need to choose between heading 11 miles down to Wigan, or 15.7 miles up to Blackburn for their test - a little too far to make it there and back on a break from work.
The postcodes used were from fairly central parts of each borough, including Manchester's M4, Bolton's BL1, Bury's BL9, and Salford's M27.
Postcodes in OL11 from Rochdale, M33 from Trafford, Tameside's OL6, Oldham's OL1, Wigan's WN1 and Stockport's SK1 rounded out the list.
UK Health Security Agency sources said “very high demand” for PCR test slots at sites across the country had led to temporary reduced availability in some areas.
PCR test kits which are posted to people’s homes, usually arriving the following day, are available.
The public are being advised to try again later if they cannot get a test, which will not be available to book through helplines.
On Tuesday new guidance came into force for the testing of coronavirus close contacts.
Double jabbed people are now being asked to take a lateral flow test every day for seven days if they come into contact with someone with Covid-19.
But, for the second day running, lateral flow tests are unavailable to be ordered via the Government website, though it is understood that a number were available in the early hours of the morning.
Tests can still be collected from pharmacies, although many people have reported that their local store is now out of stock too.
