Rapid Covid testing centres are still up and running across Hertfordshire. Credit: PA The latest list of local testing sites for people with no coronavirus symptoms has been released ahead of the return to school. Rapid testing sites have been up and running across Hertfordshire since January, primarily aimed at key workers and other members of the public who cannot work from home. The lateral flow tests are able to tell someone whether they unknowingly have Covid within 45 minutes of taking a test. With schoolchildren heading back into the classrooms this week, it increases the risk of coronavirus spreading across communities.
A rapid Covid testing centre in North Hertfordshire. Credit: Cllr Jeff Jones/Twitter Rapid testing will continue to be readily available across Hertfordshire even though new cases of coronavirus have dipped considerably. The number of new weekly cases in some areas of the county are lower than the November lockdown but rapid testing is a vital way of controlling the spread of Covid-19. Primarily aimed at key workers or people who cannot work at home, the testing is for asymptomatic people to check if they unknowingly have the disease. Anyone with coronavirus symptoms must not visit a rapid testing site and instead book a test via the government website.
Rapid Covid testing sites tell people with no Covid symptoms if they are infectious or not. Credit: PA Hertfordshire County Council is continuing to expand the number of sites offering free rapid Covid tests for people with no symptoms. Infection rates continue to drop across the county but officials are ramping up the number of lateral flow tests being made available to key workers and other members of the public. To help prevent asymptomatic people passing the virus on unknowingly, the council is setting up numerous pop-up sites, offering rapid tests capable of telling someone whether they have Covid within an hour of taking a test.
Rapid Covid testing sites are opening across Hertfordshire from today. Credit: PA Several rapid coronavirus testing centres are opening in Hertfordshire from today for people with no symptoms of the disease. The council-run sites will offer free lateral flow tests which can detect whether someone has Covid within minutes. According to the government, 1 in 3 people with Covid do not show any symptoms, so rapid testing is a quick way for someone to find out if they are infectious. Anyone taking a lateral flow test should receive a test result within one hour of taking the test. Primarily, this type of testing is aimed at key workers who are unable to work from home, but the testing is open to the community as well.