Test results reviewed before wider roll-out
The results from an asymptomatic Covid testing trial held in Sunderland are set to be reviewed before any move is made to roll out further sites.
A pilot scheme was set up at Washington Millennium Centre in Concord in the week leading up to Christmas and also moved to areas across the city.
It was hoped the checks on people who are asymptomatic would help reduce transmission as just one in three people show no signs of having the illness.
T h e s e l f - ad m i n i s te re d tests were quick and painless and people were told they could expect results back within hours.
Sunderland City Council, which ran the scheme in partnership with the Department for Health and Social Care and Public Health England, has said the data collected – which has not been made public – will be used to decide the next move in the testing programme.
The scheme was announced by Health Secretary Matt Hancock in mid-December, with all councils across the North East signing up.
A similar project in Liverpool found such testing was “not an accurate way of screening the general population” and offered a risk of giving false reassurace, according to a senior person who works for the department.
Gerry Taylor, the council’s Executive Director of Public Health and Integrated Commissioning, said: “The testing trial we ran in Washington before Christmas was very helpful in terms of understanding setting up and carrying out asymptomatic testing and we learned a lot.
“We h ave a l s o l e a r n e d from evaluations of asymptomatic testing elsewhere.
“The trial was set up to help identify and isolate people with Covid who wouldn’t otherwise be identified as they don’t have symptoms so they could be prevented from passing it on to others unknowingly.
“I would like to thank everyone who booked a test and took part in the process.
“We explained to all those who were tested that if they tested negative they could still go on to develop Covid-19.
“So even if someone had a negative test result it was essential to continue to follow the preventative measures recommended for stopping the spread of the virus.
“We will be revisiting the programme in the light of the PM’s Stay at Home guidance.”