Testing centre shuts
A MASS testing centre visited by tens of thousands through the pandemic has shut its doors after two years.
Cardiff’s coronavirus mass testing centre was set up in 2020 to address the sudden need for widespread testing in the wake of the Covid-19 pandemic’s first wave of infections across Wales.
Two years on and the testing centre has finally closed and work has begun to dismantle the temporary structures that have remained in place outside the Cardiff City Stadium in the Leckwith area of the city.
The Welsh Government has said all 20 local PCR testing sites, 19 mobile testing sites and a number of community test units operated by local health boards will be shutting down.
Only four mobile testing units run by the Welsh Ambulance Service will remain open, as well as community testing units run by health boards and linked to health and care settings. They are not open to the general public and only health care staff and the vulnerable will be sent there for tests.
One North Wales employee who wished to remain anonymous told BBC Wales staff had initially been offered a contract until August.
But in February they were given just four days’ notice that their site was closing. It followed the UK Government’s announcement that free Covid testing would come to an end by April. “People were actually in shock, thinking ‘wow, four days’ – all of a sudden in four days, you’re thrown to the wolves,” he said.
He said staff were offered “advice on CV writing, but it all seemed too little, too late to help you benefit”.
He also said workers were not eligible for redundancy because of the length of the employment.