Businesses urged to keep testing to keep Covid at bay

Regular Covid-19 testing is helping to keep staff safe and local businesses operational, so those who are not already doing so are being encouraged to make rapid testing part of their workplace routine.

With as many as one in three people who test positive for Covid-19 not having any symptoms, routine testing is the quickest and easiest way to make sure someone is not carrying the virus unknowingly. Testing and identifying these asymptomatic cases prevents onward transmission and protects businesses and its employees.

One of the first to pilot testing for staff who cannot work from home was Ansaldo Nuclear Ltd, who have since made regular testing part of their workplace routine.

The company set up workplace testing at its Spring Road site in January and since then has been carrying out regular weekly testing of approximately 100 office-based staff, plus visitors and contractors, in order to keep its workforce safe.

Keith Roeton from Ansaldo Nuclear, said: “Weekly Lateral flow testing at Ansaldo Nuclear has been fundamental in maintaining a safe work environment.

“The weekly testing forms part of our defences in keeping our valued staff protected and operational. It gives our staff a peace of mind that the workplace remains safe and they can go home safe to their families.

“Since January we have continued to carry out weekly testing with our committed lateral flow test team who are going above and beyond their daily roles to help fight the Covid pandemic”

Councillor Jasbir Jaspal, the City of Wolverhampton Council’s Cabinet Member for Public Health and Wellbeing, said: “Ansaldo Nuclear is a great example of the benefit of regular workplace testing and how it helps to protect the business, the staff and their families.

“As more people return to their places of work, the risk of onward infection from asymptomatic cases increases. As Ansaldo has shown, regular routine testing is the best way to protect staff and keep businesses open, so I would urge all businesses in the city to do so, whether that be in-house, at a pharmacy test site, or at home with a rapid test kit.”

Rapid Covid-19 testing is available to businesses and residents at selected pharmacies around the city. These supervised tests are available to walk-in or can be booked ahead and are quick and easy. Once the test has been completed there is no need to wait around for results, which are automatically sent to the person in around an hour.

For details of participating pharmacies in Wolverhampton, please visit www.wolverhampton.gov.uk/pharmacy-testing

In addition to pharmacy testing, rapid test centres are open at The Civic Centre, Jamia Masjid Bilal mosque and Ashmore Park hub.

Home test kits are also available, and can be collected from test centres, many pharmacies, and other locations around the city. Alternatively, they can be ordered online for home delivery at http://www.gov.uk/order-coronavirus-rapid-lateral-flow-tests or by calling NHS 119.