Securing a slot for a coronavirus (COVID-19) test is no easy task.
According to the latest government figures released last week, around 220,000 tests are processed each day, with a testing capacity of more than 350,000 – which includes swab tests and antibody tests – and the aim is to increase that to 500,000 a day by the end of October.
This isn’t quite the case at the moment though however.
An increase in demand for tests over the past few weeks has led to local shortages – particularly in Greater Manchester – with some people being directed to test sites hundreds of miles from their homes.
Addressing the situation in the House of Commons, Health Secretary Matt Hancock said that the system is facing an “enormous challenge” after a “sharp rise” in those seeking a test. He admitted that there were a number of current “operational challenges” with the testing process, which the government was “working hard” to fix.
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He continued: “I don’t deny that it is an enormous challenge and when you have a free service it’s inevitable that demand rises.
“The challenge is to make sure that we prioritise the tests we have as a nation to those who most need it.”
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Pikist
Here at The Manc, we always want to hear the viewpoints and experiences of our audience.
After observing the ongoing nationwide conversation around the difficulty many are experiencing in securing slots for coronavirus (COVID-19) tests, we were keen to take a more regional look and find out how Greater Manchester residents have found the process, so we took to Twitter this morning to ask: Has anyone in Greater Manchester struggled to get a coronavirus test?
How’s the process been in general?
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Has anyone in Greater Manchester struggled to get a Coronavirus test? How's the process been in general?
In response to our question, we received a range of responses from residents across the region detailing their own personal experiences, particularly with relation to the online booking system and how easy it is to use, booking tests over the phone, the range of slots available and of course, the location of testing centres.
Overall, the responses were mixed, although it is fair to say that the majority did seem to indicate some level of dissatisfaction with the process.
While it is hard to disguise the dissatisfaction expressed by many, it’s not all doom and gloom as we did receive a few replies reporting positive experiences with the booking system.
Heywood has a walk in centre set up. Got booked in for the following day very easily. However, that was about 3 weeks ago so don’t know if it’s still the case.
Interested in checking out the rest of the responses?
Keen to have your say?
We unfortunately were not able to include every reply to our question in this article, but there’s still time to chip in, so make sure you head on over to @TheMancUK to read the other responses, leave your thoughts and discuss with other Mancunians in the same or different positions to you.
For the latest information, guidance and support during the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic in the UK, please do refer to official sources at gov.uk/coronavirus.
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James Acaster reveals eerie song all Traitors contestants are forced to listen to before every roundtable
Emily Sergeant
James Acaster has revealed the eerie (and pretty surprising) song that all Traitors contestants are forced to listen to before every roundtable.
In case you’ve been living comfortably under a rock, you’ll probably be aware that comedian James Acaster is currently a contestant on this current season of BBC‘s smash-hit reality TV competition show, The Celebrity Traitors – a show that viewers in their millions are tuning into each week, with some big names on the cast.
Acaster is currently (spoiler alert… but it shouldn’t be at this point, we are several weeks in after all) one of three Traitors competing on the show, and he’s doing a pretty good job at it.
But we wonder how much of his success can be put down to the producers’ love of a certain song they like to play before every roundtable? Probably next to none, but it’s surprising to find out how much of an integral role the tune plays though.
The song we’re referring to here, it has been revealed, is ‘The Hanging Tree’ – a folk ballad made popular by The Hunger Games.
‘The Hanging Tree’, composed by James Newton Howard and Suzanne Collins, was famously sung by Jennifer Lawrence’s character Katniss Everdeen in the third instalment of the film franchise, The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 1.
The lyrics are as follows:
Are you, are you Coming to the tree Where they strung up a man They say who murdered three? Strange things did happen here No stranger would it be If we met at midnight In the hanging tree
So, as you can see, the song does make reference to ‘murder’, which is a key part of The Traitors game (not real murder, of course), but even with that context, we’re still not sure why the producers are keen to play it out before every roundtable.
During a viral TikTok clip from an on-stage Q&A this week, Acaster revealed the song’s usage to the audience: “You all walk in silence down the corridor, and you all sit down, and they don’t announce it’s gonna happen.
“The first time this will completely blindside you, but they do it every single roundtable. They play that song from The Hunger Games, that ‘coming to the tree’ song. Like acapella, Jennifer Lawrence.”
He continued: “It was every f***ing time, it was the only song we heard the whole time we were in there, and all day I would have it in my head constantly, everyone would, I’d go ‘have you got coming to the tree in your head?’ and they’d go ‘yes, it’s in my head, again’.”
Viewers who watch the show may have spotted the song being played in the background or transition between certain scenes, but now it’s been revealed that the contestants hear it too.
Who would’ve thought?
Featured Image – Euan Cherry / BBC / Studio Lambert
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Tickets officially go on sale for rare 70mm IMAX screenings of Dune: Part Three in Manchester
Emily Sergeant
Tickets have now officially gone on sale for rare 70mm IMAX screenings of Dune: Part Three in Manchester.
Arriving on screens from 18 December and gearing up to be one of the most anticipated films of the year, Dune: Part Three – which is the third and final instalment in director Denis Villeneuve’s Dune franchise – will be screening in IMAX 70mm at Vue Manchester Printworks, one of only three venues to show it in this format nationwide.
There are only 40 other venues across the globe showing the film in IMAX 70mm, and Manchester is the only city outside of London to screen the blockbuster this way too.
Based on the novels of Frank Herbert and set nearly two decades after the previous film, Dune: Part Three features an ensemble cast of all-star names led by Timothée Chalamet and Zendaya.
Alongside them will be Jason Momoa, Florence Pugh, Anya Taylor-Joy, Rebecca Ferguson, Robert Pattinson, Charlotte Rampling, Javier Bardem, and Josh Brolin.
After seats for a special early screening of the film in IMAX sold out in less than 30 minutes last month, the IMAX 70mm showings – which officially went live today (20 October) – are expected to be snapped up fast by film fans in Manchester.
“A decade in the making, Denis Villeneuve’s epic Dune trilogy is reaching its dramatic conclusion this December,” explained Dean Cross, who is the Senior Screen Content Manager at Vue.
“As the only venue outside of London to be screening Dune: Part Three in IMAX 70mm, it’s a privilege for us to offer this unique way to experience the film.”
Emily Sergeant -
15th September 2020 
