AN OXFORD coronavirus test centre has had a quiet day, despite sick people desperatley trying to book a test. 

Some people have been told to travel hundreds of miles away for a swab as test centres struggled to cope with the demand.

Read more: the hack to getting a coronavirus test in Oxford. 

Parents of youngsters who have just returned to school for the first time in months are having to keep them at home in self-isolation until they get a negative test result.

But despite spending days booking a slot to get a swab, the challenge is proving impossible for many.

Today at the Oxford Brookes testing site three men stood outside in high-visability vests with masks on. 

Oxford Mail:

In the 10 minutes that the Oxford Mail was at the centre, one woman was turned away and three families were let in. 

There were no queues or contant stream of people. 

Oxford Mail:

One 28-year-old man, who was able to walk-in with no appointment last Tuesday, said it was very quiet. 

He said: "We didn't book ahead and they let me in.

"The woman behind the desk said they had been opened for four days there had been some busy days amd some not so busy days. 

"It was a DIY test. They sat me down at a table and the test was already there and there are instructions on the wall on how to do it. 

"I got my negative result on Thursday." 

He said he had tried to get a test at the Parkway Park and Ride drive-through testing centre but was turned away. 

Oxford Mail:

He added: "It wasn't busy. It seemed like there was nobody there." 

Another woman who had tried to get a drive-through test at the Parkway Park and Ride without an appointment this morning also said the centre was 'empty'. 

Read more: the hack to getting a coronavirus test 

She was given a cheat by a member of staff on how to get a test, but it was unsuccessful.