Testing, testing… all adults are encouraged to take regular, twice weekly COVID tests

Released:

From Friday 9 April everyone over the age of 18 years old will be able to access free COVID tests via a number of routes.

The Prime Minister’s announcement over Easter continued to emphasise that regular twice weekly testing for people without COVID symptoms remains an important part of the government’s roadmap to easing lockdown restrictions.

Around one in three people with coronavirus do not have any symptoms so it is important that cases are identified that would not have been found without regular asymptomatic testing.

There are a number of existing ways people living or working in Solihull, who do not have COVID symptoms can access free, regular COVID tests. They include our local community testing sites; the COVID-19 Community Testing Mobile Unit; the Community Collect service as well as a home delivery service.

There are separate testing arrangements for businesses and workplaces, schools, colleges and for teaching and non-teaching staff of primary and secondary schools, colleges, and nurseries.

f you’d like to find out more about the national testing guidance please visit the Government website.

Please note that North Solihull Sports Centre will close as a test site today (8 April) and Newington Resource Centre will reopen for testing from 9 April.

Ruth Tennant, Director of Public Health said:

“We will continue to make accessing COVID tests as convenient as possible for everyone in the borough.

“We know regular COVID testing of those without symptoms remains vitally important as it will help identify those individuals who may unknowingly be passing on the virus and ultimately help us reduce the spread of COVID.

“Anyone with COVID-19 symptoms or a positive test result should stay at home and self-isolate immediately for a full 10 days. This guidance still applies even if you have received one or more doses of the COVID-19 vaccine.”