No booking needed at walk-in test centre...
SITE WITH CAPACITY TO SEE UP TO 500 A DAY
A CORONAVIRUS testing site with a capacity of up to 500 people a day was due to open in the city centre today.
The site, on the car park at the Sue Townsend Theatre in Upper Brown Street, will provide free, on-the-spot tests for people who arrive without an appointment.
City council public health officials said although people will not need to book, they may have to wait if demand is high.
There will be no drive-through facility at the site, which will be open seven days a week, from 10am until 4pm.
Anyone who has symptoms of coronavirus – typically a new, persistent cough, high temperature and loss of taste/smell – will be able to get tested.
People who are tested will be swabbed and their sample processed in about 48 hours. They will receive their results by text message and/or e-mail.
Director of public health Professor Ivan Browne said: “This new facility has the capacity to provide 500 tests a day.
“Testing is vital in our fight against coronavirus and helps to protect our most vulnerable residents.
“Only by identifying where and how the virus is spreading will we be able to prevent our numbers in Leicester from rising further.
“It’s always better to book your test in advance, but this centre will be open to people who just walk up.
“We want to make testing as accessible as possible.
“I would urge people to take a test and help us take control of this situation so we can hopefully see an easing of restrictions in Leicester once the national lockdown is over.”
The site will join 10 others operating in Leicester – four drive-through and six walk-through.
These all require people to make an appointment.
As the location and opening of hours of the testing centres may change according to need, the council said the best way to find the nearest centre and book a test is by visiting nhs.uk/coronavirus
The city council is shortly due to announce the details of how it will start to administer mass lateral flow testing as part of the government roll out of a pilot run in Liverpool.
About 10,000 test kits have arrived in the city.
Testing is vital in our fight against the virus and helps to protect the most vulnerable
Prof Ivan Browne, pictured above