- Community testing to begin at Redcar Leisure Centre for key workers and people who cannot work from home.
- Partnership between Redcar & Cleveland Borough Council, Department of Health and Social Care and Everyone Active to use lateral flow tests to help keep our precious services moving.
- Testing of asymptomatic key workers and people who cannot work from home to begin at 8.00am on Monday, 25 January 2021.
Key workers and people who cannot work from home will be able to get tested and help protect their communities and the people they love when a new Covid-19 testing facility launches in Redcar on Monday, 25 January.
The latest scheme aims to reduce the spread of Covid-19 by identifying people who cannot work from home who are positive but who do not display any Coronavirus symptoms. About one in three people with Coronavirus do not have symptoms and are spreading the virus without realising.
A lateral flow test – which produce results in around 30 minutes – will be available at the Redcar Leisure Centre, Ridley Street, Redcar, TS10 1TD – Monday to Friday between 8.00 am and 6.30pm from Monday, 25 January.
If you are a key worker or unable to work from home and you are not displaying any Coronavirus symptoms you can book a test by visiting the Council's website at www.redcar-cleveland.gov.uk or calling the contact centre on 01642 774774.
The testing will be supported by trained volunteers and the lateral flow tests will allow the public to test themselves before the results are analysed on-site. The results are usually available within 30 minutes.
Anyone displaying the following Coronavirus symptoms should not come to the Redcar Leisure Centre for a test:
- a new, continuous cough
- a high temperature; or
- a loss of, or change, in your sense of smell or taste.
If you have any of the symptoms listed above, you should follow the guidance online on how to book a test – https://www.gov.uk/get-coronavirus-test – or call 119. Lines are open 7am to 11pm. You will also need to need to stay at home and self-isolate.
The scheme in Redcar is being delivered in partnership with Redcar & Cleveland Borough Council and NHS Test and Trace and will offer self-administered tests.
Free parking for people being tested will be available in the large Council-run car park in Kirkleatham Street (opposite Seafield House).
Leader of Redcar & Cleveland Council, Cllr Mary Lanigan said:
“Despite encouraging progress on the rollout of the vaccine, we cannot afford to become complacent about the threat of coronavirus, which remains a real danger in our communities.
“The roll-out of community testing has the potential to make a real difference in managing the spread of the virus.
“I would encourage our key workers and people who cannot work from home, to grasp the opportunity to get a test, and help protect their loved ones and the wider community.
“If people who show no symptoms but test positive self-isolate, it will not only help to protect their loved ones and the vulnerable in our communities, but it will also enable life to return to normal as quickly as possible."
Health Minister Lord Bethell said:
“We've already come so far since first setting up a national testing programme at an unprecedented pace to help counter COVID-19, but we continue to strive to go further, faster.
“Around one in three people have the virus without symptoms so could be spreading the disease without knowing it. Broadening testing to identify those showing no symptoms will mean finding positive cases more quickly, and breaking chains of transmission.
“I'm delighted that Redcar & Cleveland Council are working with us to roll out community testing in Redcar, and I look forward to seeing the results."
Baroness Dido Harding, Interim Executive Chair of the National Institute for Health Protection, said:
“NHS Test and Trace continues to play a leading role in the fight against COVID-19. Increased community testing is a vital additional tool at our disposal to help identify those who are infected and infectious, but unaware that they might be spreading the disease.
“The work of Redcar & Cleveland Council in Redcar will be essential in driving down transmission rates. I urge all those living in areas where community testing is offered to come forward and get tested."
If you are asked to self-isolate by NHS Test and Trace and you are on a low income, unable to work from home and will lose income as a result, you may be entitled to a payment of £500 from your local authority under the Test and Trace Support Payment scheme. To apply, please visit: https://www.redcar-cleveland.gov.uk/coronavirus/Pages/Test-and-Trace-Support-Scheme.aspx