Keep on getting twice weekly test to help stop spread of virus

With nearly 1,000 people in Wolverhampton testing positive for Covid-19 last week, residents without symptoms are reminded to get a twice weekly rapid test to reassure themselves they don't have the potentially deadly virus.

Free walk-in rapid Covid-19 testing is available at the Civic Centre, St Peter's Square, between 8am and 6pm, Monday to Friday, the Jamia Masjid Bilal, Newhampton Road, from 10am-7pm daily, and The Hub at Ashmore Park between 9am and 6pm on Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursdays and Fridays. Please note, the Civic Centre and The Hub at Ashmore Park will be closed this Bank Holiday Monday (30 August), though the Jamia Masjid Bilal is open as normal.

Rapid Covid-19 testing can also be done at home using test kits. These can be picked up from the mobile Covid-19 test unit, Bilston and Wolverhampton Markets, WV Active leisure centres, Wolverhampton Swimming and Fitness Centre and from pharmacies offering the Pharmacy Collect service (details at https://maps.test-and-trace.nhs.uk).

Please note, rapid testing is only for people without symptoms of Covid-19. People with symptoms – a new, continuous cough, a fever or a change to their sense of taste or smell – should immediately self-isolate and book a PCR test at www.gov.uk/get-coronavirus-test or by calling 119.

Councillor Jasbir Jaspal, the City of Wolverhampton Council's Cabinet Member for Public Health and Wellbeing, said: “Along with the vaccine, testing is key to getting us out of this pandemic and, with nearly 1,000 people in Wolverhampton testing positive last week, it is as important as ever.

"If you have symptoms of Covid-19, you must self-isolate and get a PCR test. But even if you don't have symptoms, it is important that you get a regular rapid test. That's because we know that one in three people with Covid-19 do not have symptoms but could still be infectious and spread the virus onto more vulnerable family and friends.

“Rapid testing is quick, easy and can be done from the comfort of home, so please get a test twice a week – particularly if you are going to work or meeting up with friends – to reassure yourselves and others that you don't have Covid-19, and to help stop the spread of the virus if it turns out that, actually, you do."

More information on Covid-19 testing, including advice about how to take the rapid test at home, is available at www.wolverhampton.gov.uk/get-tested. Please remember that rapid test results must be registered, whether positive or negative, to help better track the spread of the virus.

Latest figures show there were 371.4 new cases of Covid-19 per 100,000 people in Wolverhampton over the last seven days. That means 977 people tested positive for the virus in that same period – though the true number of new cases will likely be higher.