Southend Council’s new initiative hopes to ensure diverse communities have equal access to Covid testing facilities. The scheme saw 300 boxes containing 2,100 lateral flow (LFD) test kits delivered to Southend Mosque in West Road, Westcliff. The test kits are for worshippers during Ramadan, which began on April 12 and finishes on May 12. Test kits will also be distributed to Southend’s two other mosques – The Essex Jamme Masjid Trust on Chelmsford Avenue and Faizane Medina Masjid on Milton Road, and will be replenished when stocks are low. Imam Iftikhar Ul Haque, of the UK Islamic Mission Southend Masjid, said: “These new rapid tests will help identify more people carrying the virus without symptoms and stop the spread of the infection.