"I had to wait four days for a test": The reality of booking a Covid-19 test for Preston's key workers

Her daughter, who had a slight temperature due to teething, was also told to stay home from her nursery until she had a test.

This left Julie, who works in the care sector, with no option but to stay at home unpaid, meaning she is now worried about how she will make ends meet at the end of the month.

She said: "My little girl was teething on Monday and had a slight temperature but apart from that she was fine. I have had four children so know what it is like when they start teething and know that it is normal for this to happen. The nursery told me that she had to stay at home until she had a test for coronavirus, so this meant that I had to go home from work and get a test as well.

"As soon as I left work I tried to book a test and couldn't get through because the website was too busy. I have been trying the website from seven in the morning, desperate to try and get us looked at. As a key worker we should be front of the queue because I can't go back to work and am not getting paid whilst I wait for us to get a test.

"I drove to the Moor Park testing centre, where they told me that I couldn't have my daughter tested because she was under five years old. I then tried the London Road testing centre and was told I had to book an appointment. When a slot did become available, for 30 miles away, by the time I had gone to the next page, the time had been taken.

"Finally, this morning I got told that I would have a home testing kit sent out, but I have no idea how long that will take or how long I have to wait until the results come back for me to go back to work. With all the panic going on, everyone is desperate for a test and it is so confusing. I am now worried about how we will overcome this and how I will get through next month when I do get paid."

Coronavirus infection rates have risen across 11 of the 14 boroughs, meaning that Lancashire is now home to three of the five worst infection rates in the country.

Preston sits on the Government's 'red alert' list, causing the number of NHS coronavirus symptom checks in to double in a week.

New figures put Preston back in the top three worst-affected areas of the country, with a Covid case rate of 120.9 per 100,000 people in the week to 11th September.

And ast week, people in Lancashire had logged on to the online symptom checker or contacted the NHS with concerns about possible Covid-19 symptoms a total of 4,133 times.

It emerged earlier this week that the mobile Covid test facilities which have previously been touring Lancashire are either "switched off or at very low capacity", because of issues with the national testing system.

Abdul Razaq, consultant in public health at Lancashire County Council, told a meeting of the authority's health scrutiny committee that there is a shortage of the type of testing kits used at walk-in units - such as Moor Park and Preston Markets, which carried out more than 600 tests on Monday alone.

And when the Post attempted to get a test appointment, claiming that we were a key worker or had the symptoms of coronavirus, the website informed us that there were no drive-through or walk-through test sites available and that we would have to try and book at a different time.

Julie added: "When you try to book a test, you just go round in circles. Just because my daughter was teething the whole family has been put on hold. If for one second, I thought there really was coronavirus in my family, I would not attend work and would not worry about the bills.

"We just feel like you are hitting such a brick wall. People can still have the common cold and get on with their lives, but everyone is wanting tests at the moment."