Mass rapid test plan for Slough
Christmas in lockdown as Berks and Bucks move into tier 4
Slough and Windsor will spend Christmas in lockdown following the Government’s decision to place the area under tier 4 restrictions.
Residents in Berkshire and Buckinghamshire had been hoping for a five-day reprieve over the festive period but household mixing has now been banned in response to a new strain of coronavirus spreading rapidly across London and the South East.
The move, announced on Saturday, meant non-essential shops and services had to join hospitality venues in shutting their doors.
Josie Wragg, chief executive of Slough Borough Council, described the news as ‘devastating’ for the community but said some people in Slough have been ‘too complacent’ over the virus.
The council reached an agreement with Government this week for the rollout of rapid mass testing in Slough in January to target people carrying the virus without symptoms.
The move will see mobile and static rapid testing centres set up which will enable people to find out if they have COVID-19 within 30 minutes of taking a test.
Councillor Natasa Pantelic, cabinet member for health and wellbeing, said she hoped residents will take action if they test positive and avoid infecting others in the community.
The number of COVID-19 compliance officers has also been doubled in Slough, from eight to 16, to target those who flout the lockdown rules.
The switch from tier 2 to tier 4 in a matter of days came as a shock for people in the Royal Borough and Buckinghamshire.
But the Royal Borough’s cabinet member for health, Councillor Stuart Carroll, said it was the right decision given the concern over the new variant of the virus.
The Prime Minister Boris Johnson said the new strain may be up to 70 per cent more transmissible than before.
More analysis is needed on the spread of the new strain in Berkshire but Cllr Carroll said the variant ‘is prevalent in other areas and highly likely to spread’.
Mass rapid testing will be rolled out in Slough next month to enable people to find out if they have COVID-19 within 30 minutes of getting a test.
Slough Borough Council announced on Tuesday it has reached an agreement with Government for the extra measures to tackle the spread of the virus.
It comes after the borough was placed in the tier 4 ‘Stay at Home’ aler t level, along with the rest of Berkshire, last weekend.
Mobile and static rapid testing centres will be up and running in the town from mid-January for those without COVID-19 symptoms.
Anyone who tests positive from the rapid test will be required to have an immediate follow-up test using the current testing method to confirm the result.
Councillor Natasa Pantelic, cabinet member for health and wellbeing, said: “We have been working very hard on bringing an appropriate and suitable mass testing offer to residents and we are very pleased our plans have received government approval today.
“There is still a lot of work to be done before we can open the doors of either the mobile or static rapid testing centres to residents but we will be working throughout the Christmas and New Year period so these are in place as soon as possible.
“As the mass testing will be available to all those without symptoms we hope to be able to help residents clearly take action if they test positive and avoid infecting others in the community.”
Details on how to get a rapid test, where and when will be released in the New Year.
Anyone with symptoms can continue to get tests at the Montem Testing Centre as usual.
Slough Borough Council has also confirmed the recruitment of eight more COVID-19 officers, doubling its current cohort, until March 2021.
Their duties will include visiting businesses where complaints have been made about COVID19 compliance and targeting hotspot areas where people are flouting the rules.
Cllr Pantelic added: “It is clearly an incredibly challenging time and everyone needs all the support possible to make sure we live within the current tier 4 arrangements and people understand what is and isn’t permitted.
“So we can support the people of Slough we are looking to introduce two measures early in the New Year, additional COVID-19 officers and mass rapid testing across the town. Our COVID-19 officers are the front line of the council’s ability to help enforce the regulations and, like the current officers, these new COVID-19 officers will be working closely with our CCTV room, environmental health and police to target hotspot areas and follow up concerns from residents.”
The council’s COVID-19 officers will not have the powers to break-up gatherings in the street or in people’s homes with this responsibility falling on Thames Valley Police.
According to data from Public Health Berkshire, Slough’s infection rate stood at 533 cases per 100,000 people when the Express went to press.