Can Someone Explain These Numbers?

[diddlydo]

"Just 52, 429 tests were carried out in the UK in the 24 hours to yesterday, on 33,455 people."

As reported this morning.

[barry1010]

Zacs, that article was not there when diddly posted. The only reference was in the 'breaking news' section that did not include the facts about retesting.

[10ClarionSt]

3 + 4 = 11 add 8 = 12. Simples!

[Zacs-Master]

barry, the article is dated and timed Thu 30 Apr 2020 00.01 BST.

[mushroom25]

// Mushroom - where's your quote from? //

the guardian - same as your quote is.

[barry1010]

Zacs, when I searched the OPs post I was taken to the breaking news page which had the exact wording as the OP and no more - nothing about retests.

[Zacs-Master]

There’s no update mentioned, barry, just Thu 30 Apr 2020 00.01 BST. Maybe you looked in the wrong place?

[fiction-factory]

It's pretty clear the target of 100,000 tests won't be met by end of April (although we'll have to wait until Saturday to get the figures because of the time lag in reporting), but there will be something said about we now have the lab capacity (I think that's already there) and several hundred thousands of application for tests from over 65s and key workers are being processed.

[diddlydo]

OK that makes sense now. Zacs - you must realise that the times shown against Guardian articles don't necessarily coincide with them being on the website for all to see. Happens frequently.

[Zacs-Master]

Of course diddly, of course. Silly me.

[THECORBYLOON]

The Wayback Machine shows a link was archived at 05:43:36 GMT to-day.

https://web.archive.org/web/20200430054336/https:www.theguardian.com/world/2020/apr/30/hospital-chiefs-increasingly-frustrated-with-uk-testing-failures

From that archived link,

"A Guardian analysis of the data suggests that around 20% more tests are carried out each day than there are people tested. On Tuesday, that rose to a high of 37%. The reasons are unclear, but it is known that retests because of results that doctors disbelieve are not uncommon. In hospitals, that can be because doctors are convinced a patient has Covid-19 and do not believe a negative result, so get the test repeated.

Although the lab processing is very accurate, getting enough swab sample of the virus from the back of the mouth or nose can be difficult. PHE said that originally people with symptoms would have a swab test of the back of the mouth and another one of the nose, but now there is a move to obtaining just one sample. That might mean a greater likelihood of retesting."

[bednobs]

urrgg they are still "straining every sinew" i see.

it's the new "strong and stable" or "get brexit done"

[fiction-factory]

They alternate it with 'working night and day' along with 'ramping it up' and 'doing the right thing at the right time'

[bednobs]

i loved it when one actually said they would be "ramping it up, slowly"

[diddlydo]

Maybe we'll have a "Dictionary of Covid-speak" when this is over, listing all the meaningless buzz-phrases of the moment. Start with "Wash your hands"......

[Zacs-Master]

We could have a ‘diddly’; meaning:
Meaningless, baseless garbage posted in the name of boredom.

[Peter Pedant]

// Could you post the actual link please, diddly?//
ground breaking idea for AB

can someone explain he numbers? well I can count beyond fwee so I can have a go

eleven pebbles and ten pots
the pigeon hole principle says one pot has more than one pebble

applying that to this
some people had more than one test

what really happened is anyones guess

[Peter Pedant]

// Start with "Wash your hands"......//
is NOT a meaningless phrase

a typical AB put down - "what he on abart ven?" or stupid man must head the list as pretty meaningless

[jno]

isn't 19,000 an awfully large number of tests that doctors aren't happy with? Something like one in three?

If that means, even when the fabled 100,000 tests a day are carried out, only 60,000 people are actually tested, then there's still quite a way to go.

[muradhossain]

Yes, we know that the more tests performed, the more corona patients can be identified.

[fiction-factory]

welcome I see you have an avatar already