Posted on Friday 16th April 2021
There are changes to Covid testing venues in Burton as the County Council calls for people to get tested twice a week and home testing is rolled out nationwide.
The national testing site for people with Covid symptoms at Burton’s Town Hall will move to Meadowside Drive car park on Saturday (10 April) and new venues will host pop-up community testing.
The national testing site will switch from a walk-thru to a drive-thru site (people should enter through the Meadowside Leisure Centre side) and there will also be some new pop-up venues for asymptomatic testing.
The Burton Afghan Society at Moor Street’s Burton Community Centre is holding community testing today (Thursday, 8 April, 10 – 4pm) and the Burton Caribbean Association centre on Uxbridge Street will hold rapid testing for the first time on the following Thursday (15, April).
Walk-ins are welcome and you will also be able to collect kits for home use after your test.
As part of central government’s testing programme, from tomorrow lateral flow kits for home use will be available for free at all testing sites, pharmacies and through the post.
This comes as Staffordshire County Council is urging all residents to make getting tested twice a week part of a regular routine.
Dr Richard Harling, Staffordshire County Council’s Director of Health and Care said:
“We know that one in three people who have the virus show no symptoms so encouraging everybody to get tested twice a week is key to keep the number of Covid cases under control.
“Adopting this habit of testing twice a week is something we must all learn to get to grips with over the coming weeks. As the next step of the government’s roadmap begins on Monday – which is great news but must come with caution.
“If we don’t all embrace frequent testing it could seriously jeopardise our chances of successfully moving along the roadmap and out of lockdown
“There are now many options for people In Burton and across Staffordshire to book or drop in and get a supervised test or you can now do it at home. So, I would urge people to have that discussion and select the option that best suits their household.”
A supervised test at one of Burton’s Community Testing Centres (for people with no symptoms) can be pre-booked at https://staffordshire.zipporah.co.uk/TrackAndTrace.
People with symptoms should self-isolate and book a test at www.nhs.uk/coronavirus or ring 119. Full details of all the testing options can be found at www.staffordshire.gov.uk/testing.