Rapid Covid-19 tests to be rolled out in Calderdale

The quick-turnaround tests will be used to help detect asymptomatic cases with the aim of slowing the spread of the virus in a number of local council areas.

Public Health England has confirmed that LFDs can detect the new variant which is spreading rapidly in London and South East England.

The 17 new areas join 106 others already signed up to roll out rapid community testing this month or January.

Calderdale is the only new council area in Yorkshire to join the rollout plans with many based in the North East and Lincolnshire.

The rollout of rapid testing is being supported by a £149m grant after care providers raised concerns about the added pressures associated with using the tests and enabling safe visits.

The Government said targeted community testing of people with no symptoms will help identify positive cases more quickly and break chains of transmission, and is available for all local authorities in Tier 4, Tier 3, and in Tier 2 at risk of going into Tier 3, with authorities invited to submit applications.

Members of the public are being urged by Health Secretary Matt Hancock to take a test if they are offered one.

He said: “Working together we will help areas where levels of the virus are highest to reduce their infection rates and break the chains of transmission.

“Roughly one in three people with coronavirus show no symptoms and so it’s essential we broaden testing to help identify those who are infected and infectious, unaware they may be spreading the disease.

“We are rolling out community testing more widely at a rapid pace, with 123 areas now planning to take part.

“If you are offered community testing in your local area, I would strongly encourage you to take up this opportunity to get tested and protect your local community.”

Calderdale Council’s Director of Public Health, Debs Harkins said: “We have now had confirmation from the Government that we can increase the scale of targeted community testing. This will allow us to build on our existing approach and use lateral flow tests to reach a larger number of people that are more likely to come into contact with the virus. We believe will help us reduce the infection rate in Calderdale as it is still too high.

“We’ve learned from the experiences of colleagues in Liverpool and Stoke-on-Trent who have undertaken whole city testing and have put together a strategy which is tailored for Calderdale.

“Lateral flow tests can be a useful way of identifying people with COVID-19 who do not have symptoms, so we can support them to isolate to prevent them spreading the virus without realising. The tests provide a rapid result.

“It’s important to understand that they are not as reliable as the laboratory analysed test. It is very unusual for lateral flow tests to find the virus in people that do not really have it and the test is good at identifying people with the virus when they are most infectious, however some people will receive a negative result when they do actually have the virus. This means the test must be used carefully and not instead of the more accurate laboratory analysed test.

“We are working closely with groups and settings to begin community testing in places where we know there is an increased risk that people will come into contact with the virus. These include schools, colleges, certain workplaces and public-facing services such as retail and hospitality. This targeted testing will work alongside our local test and trace scheme and our support for those that need to self-isolate.

“These tests do not change the main testing programme and it is important that people with symptoms of COVID-19 book laboratory analysed test in the usual way.”