Home Covid-19 testing kits now available to all. People across the borough encouraged test twice a week

Home testing kits for Covid-19 are now available to everyone in the borough.

Previously, the tests were only available to families with school age children but now everyone is being encouraged to test twice a week.

The home testing, or rapid lateral flow, test kits are for people who do NOT have Covid-19 symptoms (up to one in three carriers of the virus do not display symptoms).

These are the main ways people can get home testing kits:

  • The council's testing centres also remain open across the borough and have home testing kits available.
  • People may collect from community pharmacies and other approved sites through the NHS. Click this link for a map the sites https://maps.test-and-trace.nhs.uk/ or contact your local pharmacy and check.

The council testing centres in the borough are:

  • the South Bank centre at Golden Boy Green. This only operates as a collection point for home testing kits. Opening hours and days are: Mondays – 8am to 12pm; Wednesdays – 8am to 12pm; Thursdays – 8am to 12pm and Fridays - 8am to 12pm;
  • the Redcar testing centre at Redcar and Cleveland House on Kirkleatham Street, Redcar (it is possible to be either tested on site or home testing kits available). Opening days and hours are Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday 8am to 1pm. Closed on Wednesday;
  • Loftus Fire Station testing centre (for both on-site testing and home testing kits collection) which is open Mondays, 8am – 12pm; Tuesdays, 8am – 12.00pm; Thursdays, 2pm – 6pm and Saturdays 9am – 1pm.

Tests at Redcar and Loftus may also be booked at www.redcar-cleveland.gov.uk or by ringing 01642 774774.

Councillor Steve Kay, Cabinet Member for Health, Housing and Welfare, urged people to test regularly. He said: “These rapid – or lateral flow - tests are a vital tool in helping to identify cases of coronavirus we would otherwise not find. One in three people with coronavirus show no symptoms and can potentially spread it without knowing, so it is very important we all do our bit and test regularly. By working together, including by getting tested, we can defeat this awful disease and return to normal life."

People who DO have symptoms of Covid-19 (symptoms include fever, continuous cough, loss of appetite, smell and taste, fatigue and shortness of breath) should ring 119 or book a test online at https://www.gov.uk/get-coronavirus-test