Getting ready to open mass Covid testing sites in Notts

Nottinghamshire Fire and Rescue Covid Support Volunteers visited two operational mass testing sites in Derbyshire, working alongside personnel from the NHS and Royal Air Force.

A FRS spokesperson said: “This was in preparation for the building and opening of mass testing sites across Nottinghamshire this month.

“We would like to thank them for their training and support in demonstrating the testing process and site build to our Covid Support Volunteers within the Service."

Nottingham City Council asked to be part of a pilot to offer asymptomatic "community" testing for Covid-19 to help reduce the spread of the virus in the city.

And it has now been confirmed that the Forest Fields and Hyson Green areas of the city will be the first to have a community testing facility in place, opening in the next couple of weeks.

A City Council spokesperson said: “The centre will be run by Nottingham City Council and will encourage people without symptoms of COVID-19 (asymptomatic) to drop in and get a free rapid COVID-19 test.

“The aim of the Asymptomatic Testing Centre is to help identify and isolate individuals who have COVID-19 but do not have symptoms and may inadvertently be spreading the virus - around 1 in 3 people with Covid-19 don’t have any symptoms.

"People who live and work in Forest Fields and Hyson Green will therefore be encouraged to get a COVID-19 test at the centre at least once a week.”

The asymptomatic testing pilot will run until March 2021.