Mass Covid-19 testing to be rolled out in Nottinghamshire after successful pilot

It is expected the testing kits – which can give a result within the hour – will be sent out to top-level local councils this week.

However, it is not yet clear exactly when the testing will start, or how the scheme will be administered.

Jonathan Gribbin is the Director of Public Health for Nottinghamshire, and said: “We can confirm that Nottinghamshire has been offered a supply of lateral flow tests.

“It’s too early to comment on how this will be deployed across the county, but we welcome any measures that strengthen our test and trace capabilities.”

Alison Challenger, Director of Public Health in Nottingham, said: “Nottingham has been approached to be included in the new testing programme for Covid-19 that is being rolled out across the country.

“We are waiting for more information from the Government and will work with partners in the city to understand how we could use this to benefit our communities.

“Cases of Covid-19 have been falling in Nottingham. People have been following the ‘hands/face/space’ guidance and we’ve worked hard as a city to stick to the restrictions set out in Tier 2 and 3 – and now as part of the national lockdown.

“We will look at how best we could incorporate this additional testing as part of our city’s ongoing response to Covid-19.”

Labour MP Alex Norris, who represents Nottingham North, and is the Shadow Public Health Secretary, said: “I welcome greater testing capacity as it will help us get more parts of our lives back to normal. It is vital though that we have the tracing support to come with it – that’s failed nationally throughout the pandemic. Nottingham should be given powers and resources to run it locally.”

Coun Jason Zadrozny is the leader of Ashfield District Council, and said, “Any increase in testing in good news.

“This will allow the county to finally prioritise testing for key workers like NHS staff, care home staff and teaching staff.

“This is something the Ashfield Independents have been calling for since lockdown in the middle of March.

“This does seem to be rolled out in haste without learning lessons from the ongoing pilot in Liverpool. I know this is something that Nottinghamshire’s Director of Public Health Jonathan Gribben is rightly concerned about.

“He has urged caution but this has been ignored by the Secretary of State for Health.

“Anything that will give us a better, more accurate indication of levels of coronavirus is to be welcomed however.

“I would encourage everybody in Nottinghamshire to take part and help drive the R rate down.”

Lilian Greenwood is the Labour MP for Nottingham South, and said: “Local Public Health teams will be able to decide how best to use these tests and I have already asked to discuss the city’s plans.

“It’s not yet clear exactly what role these tests will play in efforts to reduce the spread of the virus and my constituents will have lots of questions.

“I’m working on their behalf to ensure they get answers.”

Ben Bradley is the Conservative MP for Mansfield, and in a statement online wrote: “Great to see that Nottinghamshire will be front of the queue as the mass testing programme is rolled out, following the trial currently underway in Liverpool.

“Talks have started to introduce the programme in Notts with over 20,000 tests a week.

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