Rapid COVID tests available to all
Royal Borough: Everyone can now pick up home testing kits
Anyone is now able to pick up a home testing kit or get a rapid COVID-19 test at Braywick or Windsor Leisure Centre as lockdown restrictions ease.
The facilities were previously only available for people who can’t work from home in the Royal Borough but now they are open to all, including residents from neighbouring boroughs.
The changes come after Prime Minister Boris Johnson announced at the weekend that anyone would be able to get a free, rapid, regular COVID-19 test as the country eases out of lockdown.
The two sites in Windsor and Maidenhead are now testing around 1,500 people a week with this likely to increase
when pub, shops and businesses reopen on Monday.
Kevin Mist, community services directorate and community project lead at the Royal Borough said: “We’re in a position where we can cope with taking on the extra demand and we can easily double the number of people coming through the doors to do a test or collect home testing kits.
“A test gives you certainty that you are not going to infect others and it’s another important tool in our tool box.”
People can also pick up home testing kits, these are available to pick up from the two centres and will see families given a two week supply of lateral flow tests which they can do themselves.
A mobile unit to collect home testing kits will also be operating from the car park of Ascot Racecourse on Mondays and Wednesdays between 8noon.
Mr Mist said test centres can be flexible with opening times based on peak demand but it’s important people check the website in advance.
People must be over 18 if they want a test, which takes around 30 minutes to complete.
During a press conference over Easter, Boris Johnson said: “As we continue to make good progress on our vaccine programme and with our roadmap to cautiously easing restrictions under way, regular rapid testing is even more important to make sure those efforts are not wasted.
“That’s why we’re now rolling out free rapid tests to everyone across England – helping us to stop outbreaks in their tracks, so we can get back to seeing the people we love and doing the things we enjoy.”
Visit www.rbwm.gov.uk for details, or visit www.gov.uk/ find-covid-19-lateral-flow-testsite