‘It’s quick,
COUNCILLOR URGES PUBLIC TO PARTICIPATE AS MASS TESTING STARTS
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THERE was a quiet bustle inside Batley Library as redeployed Kirklees Council staff, bolstered by RAF personnel, readied the building to begin a rapid mass testing programme for Covid-19.
Outside a queue of more than 70 people snaked up New Way to the crest of the gentle hill.
Old, young and all ages in between, they stood patiently in line to await what some felt was the beginning of the end of the coronavirus.
At the head of the queue was senior Kirklees councillor Mus Khan, who heads the Cabinet portfolio for health and social care. Within minutes of taking the test she was outside on the street thanking residents for turning out, apologising for their wait and extolling the virtues of the test.
“It’s quick, it’s easy and it’s painless,” she said. “And the results are returned within half an hour to two hours. My message is please come and get tested. Protect your family and your community. Follow the guidelines and the restrictions and get out of this mess as soon as possible.”
Kirklees has opened four walk-in testing centres as part of its campaign to reduce rates of infection.
Batley Library along with the Walsh Building in Dewsbury, the Hudawi Centre in Huddersfield and the Greenwood Centre in Ravensthorpe will operate from 8am to 8pm every day for the next few weeks.
Tests are available for anyone over the age of 11 who doesn’t have coronavirus symptoms. The council hopes that community testing will identify more cases and stop the spread of the virus.
The latest data shows that in the last seven days 165 per 100,000 people in Kirklees tested positive for Covid-19, compared to the previous week when it was 184 per 100,000 people.
This means that for the first time since May, Kirklees’ Covid-19 rates are below the national average with the borough now having the 83rd highest rates of infection in the country.
Towards the front of the queue in Batley were octogenarians Alan and Carol from Birstall. Like many others they stood patiently for an hour under grey December clouds that threatened rain.
But if the sky was dark, the horizon