Community testing in Leicestershire

16,000 new covid testing kits will be used in Covid hot spots in Leicestershire to help break the chain of infection.

Leicestershire County Council says plans are being finalised that will see lateral flow tests and "pop-up testing" deployed in communities with the highest rates of Covid 19.

The County Council has 16,000 new-style kits and can draw down more from the Government as required.

Mike Sandys, the council’s director of public health, said: “Our plans are progressing quickly and in parallel with the Government’s community testing programme. Our plan will see new-style kits deployed where we are seeing the very highest rates, helping to break the chain of infection. As you can imagine, this requires a lot of planning and we’re in the process of finalising the approach and logistics. We’re already ready to use the kits on a small-scale to help control outbreaks and in early January, we aim to be able to deploy tests and teams to communities that need it most, and scale up the operation if required.”

Council leader, Nick Rushton, said: “Rates have dropped significantly over the past month – and I’d like to thank people for heeding our call. But we can’t let our guard down. And especially with Christmas approaching and a potential third wave. We remain at the forefront of the battle against coronavirus. As one of the first in the country to localise test and trace, and with the successful drop in rates in Oadby and Wigston over the summer, we have the expertise to make this work. When we need the community testing most, after Christmas, we’ll be ready to roll.” 

The Government has today (Saturday) announced a list of 67 tier three areas where it will roll out community testing.

Although Leicestershire is not on the list, the council has worked up its own plan without the need for Government support. Ends