Play your part in city’s asymptomatic Covid-19 testing pilot

Wulfrunians are being invited to take part in a community-led pilot programme which checks whether people without symptoms of Covid-19 have the virus or not.

Already over 1,300 adults without symptoms of Covid-19 have been tested through the pilot, which is being held at the Guru Nanak Sikh Gurdwara, Sedgley Street – and anyone else who wants to be involved has until Monday (30 November) to play their part.

Councillor Jasbir Jaspal, the City of Wolverhampton Council’s Cabinet Member for Public Health and Wellbeing, said: "Asymptomatic testing is really important because it enables us to find cases of Covid-19 among people who haven't shown symptoms of the virus and so don't know they've got it.

“This means they may be inadvertently spreading Covid-19 to other people – including friends, loved ones and work colleagues – but, by breaking the chain of transmission, we can reduce the spread of the virus.”

People aged 18 and over without symptoms of Covid-19 are invited to attend the pilot, which is taking place at Guru Nanak Sikh Gurdwara, Sedgley Street, for a test between 7am and 7pm every day until the end of the month. The test uses the fast-turnaround lateral flow equipment, which can deliver results in less than an hour.

Please note, only people without Covid-19 symptoms should take part in this pilot. Anyone with symptoms of Covid-19 – a fever, a new continuous cough or a change to their sense of taste or smell – must self-isolate and book a test at one of the seven regular test sites in Wolverhampton via www.gov.uk.get-coronavirus-test or by calling 119 as normal.

Councillor Jaspal added: "It’s great that already over 1,300 people have been tested as part of this pilot scheme, and I would encourage other Wulfrunians who don’t have symptoms of Covid-19 to come down and get a test. It's quick, free and you'll have your results inside an hour.

“By playing your part, you'll help us to track the virus and protect those most at risk. You'll also help us better understand how and where to use this type of technology going forward, and ultimately get back to normal a way of life as quickly as possible.”

The asymptomatic testing pilot, which began last week, is being led by the local community, with over 25 local volunteers offering their time to support the process. The council is providing support and oversight at the testing site in partnership with the Department of Health and Social Care.

Latest data shows there were 319.2 cases of Covid-19 per 100,000 people in Wolverhampton over the seven days to 23 November. That means 839 people in the city tested positive for the virus in that seven day period – though the true number of new cases will likely be considerably higher.

The latest information and guidance around coronavirus is available at www.gov.uk/coronavirus and on the council’s own coronavirus pages at www.wolverhampton.gov.uk/coronavirus. Details of the national lockdown measures in effect until 2 December, and the answers to frequently asked questions, are available at www.wolverhampton.gov.uk/covidalert.