The UK government is scrambling to secure supplies of COVID-19 tests to meet a surge in demand. The demand for testing has increased sharply as the government tries to slow the spread of the new Omicron variant of the CCP (Chinese Communist Party) virus. During a visit to a vaccination centre on Wednesday, Prime Minister Boris Johnson urged people to get tested before New Year’s Eve festivities. But at times on Wednesday, there were no PCR or lateral flow tests available to order online. Leyla Hannbeck, chief executive of the Association of Independent Multiple Pharmacies, said people are often unable to find COVID-19 tests in chemists because of “patchy” and “inconsistent” supplies. In a letter to lawmakers, Health Secretary Sajid Javid said on Thursday that the supply of lateral flow devices (LFD)—a self-test for COVID-19—was being tripled in January and February to 300 million per month. “To respond to anticipated …