Army being drafted in by council to help with Covid-19 mass testing
MASS testing for Covid-19 is to start next week in areas of Derbyshire with high infection rates and the Army is being brought in to help out.
Derbyshire County Council has drafted in the military to help with testing in the communities over the festive period.
Tests are set to begin in Swadlincote from Monday, followed by Bolsover and Amber Valley, which includes Belper, Ripley, Heanor and Alfreton, with details on exactly where these tests will take place set to be revealed later this week.
The tests will be for people who are not showing symptoms of the disease, allowing health officials at Derbyshire County Council to better understand how prevalent asymptomatic cases are, support those who have to selfisolate and drive down infection rates.
The council says it expects to expand the testing to Bakewell and Chesterfield in mid to late January and February.
From March onwards it is expected that community testing will target areas with localised outbreaks or rising infection rates in places such as schools and workplaces.
Dean Wallace, director of public health at the county council, said the county will be one of the first areas in the country to do this.
He said: “We put ourselves forward to be one of the first areas in the country to deliver community testing because we want to improve life for Derbyshire people.
“By pressing ahead with this - despite the significant logistical challenges of finding locations for test sites, staff and equipment and the council effectively providing a whole new service – we can help people in Derbyshire to protect themselves and their loved ones and drive down infection rates.
“Community testing has a big role to play in driving infection rates down but it only works as part of a whole suite of measures including effective contact tracing, following the guidance around socialising and self isolation and the roll-out of the vaccine.
“Getting tested doesn’t mean people can stop social distancing, wearing masks or washing their hands, but it does help to make the activities they are undertaking safer.”
He added that those who are tested will be given “rapid lateral flow tests”, which give results in 15 minutes.
He said: “If they test positive they will then be given a further test to confirm the result.
“By getting tested, even if you don’t have symptoms, you are doing the right thing and ultimately helping people to stay well, businesses to stay open, children to stay in school and hospitals to have the capacity to treat other illness like cancer. “As a resident of Derbyshire I call on everyone who has the opportunity to get a test to take it, be part of this and keep showing that amazing Derbyshire spirit.” Councillor Barry Lewis, county council leader, said the fact more people would be getting tested did not make it more likely the county would remain in Tier 3 restrictions. He said: “This is a huge step forward for Derbyshire and an opportunity for us to bring down infection rates in the county and move into the lower tiers of restriction that give us more freedoms.
“The Government looks at a wide range of factors when deciding on tier placement including infection rates and not the raw number of positive tests.
“This, along with the outstanding contact tracing work we have championed here in Derbyshire, will help us to make the most of the vaccine when it comes and move toward a future where Covid doesn’t dominate our lives. This testing programme will help rather than hinder us.”