The government website states that you must have two covid PCR tests on days 2 and 8 of your quarantine upon arrival to the UK, from non-red list countries
https://www.gov.uk/guidance/how-to-quarantine-when-you-arrive-in-england
It links https://quarantinehotels.ctmportal.co.uk/Quarantine/Home.aspx to a site that provides the tests, so that is £105 a test, when the real cost of a test is £5. I have this cost information from an NHS nurse source and elsewhere on the web.
This company, CTM has an agreement with the government going back to 2018, but has taken on COVID work recently. https://www.crowncommercial.gov.uk/agreements/RM6016
This £210 appears to be a profiteering racket. This needs to be challenged and brought to the attention of someone or some public body who can champion the right of the public to a realistically priced PCR test. One would think it has been deliberately priced high and that there could be SAGE type people and MPs, who may have a financial interest in these tests being so pricey???
Has anyone else looked into this?
I suspect a lot of it is priced as such to try to stop people going abroad in the first place.
Don't forget if you want 5 day test and release you can pay for an extra THIRD test!
Its more likely down to the complete inability of the government to negotiate a contract and the supplier knew they were desperate, under time pressure and would settle for any figure suggested.
The price of testing in the UK is generally high and I would say £210 for 2 tests is probably just below the going rate. I recently returned from Germany and had a test done there for less than £60, but given the government's intention of reducing travel I feel it would be rather unrewarding to attempt to remove the snouts from the UK PCR trough; especially as the feeding pigs may be friends of government ministers and advisors.
Last PCR i had was £80.
One before that was £60
£210 is well over that (at £105 per test).
Can't you order a kit for home, to send off. I mean christ! - they are only £5!
