Army set for Hull this week as Covid mass testing rollout begins
UNIVERSITY’S SPORTS HALL TRANSFORMED INTO A TEST CENTRE
THE T Army will be deployed in Hull later l this week as mass coronavirus testing t steps up another notch.
It was confirmed by Hull West and H Hessle MP Emma Hardy yesterday, meaning the city will finally receive military assistance in the fight against Covid-19.
Despite Hull’s seven-day infection rate continuing to fall sharply, it remains one of the worst affected areas of the UK.
The news comes after mass lateral flow testing began at the University of Hull on Monday.
Part of the university’s sports hall has been transformed into a test centre in preparation for students leaving the city and returning home in the coming days.
More than 800 tests are expected to take place there altogether, using the same lateral flow testing method that will be rolled out to the rest of the city and the East Riding with the support of “military planners”.
Sharing the update yesterday, Emma Hardy confirmed that “four” military personnel will be on the ground by Friday to help get the testing equipment out to those who need it.
“I have just been notified that Hull will be receiving four military planners by December 4 to help with logistics,” she said.
“No notice on who will be picking up the cost as of yet.”
It comes after the MP challenged Prime Minister Boris Johnson on what support Hull would receive.
In mid-november, when the city’s infection rate was at its most desperate, she questioned if the armed forces would be drafted in and it appears she now has her wish.
No further details on specifics of the roll out are known at this stage but the latest update suggests.
However, care homes, schools and colleges are expected to be some of the first places targeted in the coming days and weeks.