Six community Covid testing sites close in Stoke-on-Trent

Six community testing centres have been closed as part of a revamp of the service in Stoke-on-Trent.

Lateral flow Covid-19 tests have been available at a range of venues across Stoke-on-Trent since the autumn, with symptom-free residents being urged to get tested regularly to help drive down infection rates.

But Stoke-on-Trent City Council is now cutting the number of community testing sites, as the availability of self-testing kits has increased.

Lateral flow testing will no longer be carried out at Weston Coyney Village Hall; Sneyd Green Community Hub; Penkhull Village Hall; Blurton Community Hub; Hazel Trees Duke Street; or Bentilee Neighbourhood Centre.

And the testing centres at Dimensions, Wallace Sports and Education Centre and New Horizons will become 'community collect' facilities, meaning residents will be able to pick up lateral flow kits but no testing will be carried out on site.

Anyone who has close contact with school pupils or staff is being urged to test themselves regularly by making use of the community collect service. Community collect is also available at other community testing sites and the regional centres at the bet365 Stadium, Synectics Solutions and Fenton Manor.

Lateral flow tests can give a result within 30 minutes without the need for laboratory processing, and while they are less reliable than PCR tests, public health officials see them as a useful mass screening tool for asymptomatic people.

Council leader Abi Brown said the changes represented an evolution of the testing service, rather than a phasing out. People will still be able to book lateral flow tests at seven testing venues across the city.

She said: "We are still encouraging people to get tested regularly, and they will still be able to book tests at seven community testing centres across the city.

"But we are making these changes to community testing as a lot more people are making use of the community collect service now. We're also seeing more employers in the city offering providing testing for their staff.

"Also, by moving Dimensions, Wallace and New Horizons to community collect, we will be able to restore leisure services at those sites as the lockdown restrictions are eased.

"We were one of the first authorities in the country to introduce lateral flow testing and I'm very proud of the way in which we were able to quickly ramp up the service. As we move forward, we will look to provide pop-up testing facilities if new outbreaks or new variants occur."

Another change to the lateral flow testing service will see the reintroduction of confirmatory PCR tests.

Anyone who gets a positive result from a lateral flow test will be urged to book a PCR test within 48 hours. If the PCR test comes back negative the individual will no longer have to self-isolate.

For a full list of the current community testing venues, and to book a test, visit https://www.stoke.gov.uk/bookacovid19test. To find out more about community collect visit https://www.stoke.gov.uk/communitycollect

Anyone with coronavirus symptoms should still book a test at a regional centre by visiting www.nhs.uk/coronavirus or by calling 119.