A mobile coronavirus testing facility is due to open on the Isle of Wight to increase testing for hundreds more key workers.
The unit is due to come to the Island later this week, which will greatly increase the capacity to test people for COVID-19, and enable this to happen without having to travel to the mainland.
Initially, Islanders were told they had to travel to Gatwick for testing and more recently Tipner in Portsmouth.
It is unclear where the unit will be based and whether all key workers – from nurses to journalists, shop keepers to bin men – will be eligible.
Alison Smith, managing director of NHS Isle of Wight Clinical Commissioning Group, said:
“We will have a mobile testing unit to come to the island and provide tests here, on the island.
“The plans are in their final stages and we will be able to share more details with you this week once these final stages are complete.
“This is welcome news and brings reassurance that testing will be taking place on the island to help protect our keyworkers and the rest of the island’s population.
Article continues below this advertisement “We do not want people to have to cross the Solent to have their test, which is why we have been working on a model fit for the island.
“Our keyworkers have been providing an absolutely tremendous service – often going above and beyond what is asked of them – and we want to rollout the testing as soon as possible.”
Councillor Dave Stewart, leader of the Isle of Wight Council, said:
“We are working together with our key partners, the NHS and the Local Resilience Forum, to provide the opportunity to bring forward keyworker testing facilities on the Isle of Wight so that there will not be a need to travel to the mainland to access testing.
“The final details of this are being worked on, but we expect these to be available within the week.
“It is vital that our keyworkers are supported so that they can continue the truly remarkable work they’ve been undertaking over the past month.
“I’m sure that this progress around testing facilities on the Island will bring a huge amount of reassurance to our residents and our entire keyworker workforce across a vast array of settings, who are dedicated to caring for and supporting the most vulnerable members of our Island community.”
Good that it is finally happening but has it taken so long, why has there been so little information and why so secretative about its location.
I have asked these questions of our MP – no reply
I have asked this question of many other organisations – no reply
I have asked this question via a freedom of information request – told a reply within 20 working days.
What is being hidden, why this secrecy
It’s called the Media, that’s why! How many people for instance have posted comments on this media and been blocked???
The powers that be have all the power, I have never joined any social media and never will.
Having said that, I’ve posted views on this media and sometimes they have been published, sometimes not.
You only get what editor’s want you to get, I personally view the media with lots of suspicion because most of what we are fed is “Fake” news…
Anyone wonder if the editor influence our votes???
Our votes are not PDF format, have you ever wondered if the editor interfears with your vote??
The editor can stop publishing some votes if he or she doesn’t like it, and only show what he or she does like.
All that is here for is to scare people even more and hike the numbers up
I am glad you are not in charge of our pandemic response. Testing is key as it allows us to restart the economy. It will allow us to contain outbreaks whilst knowing who has had it and can return to work. All the lock down does is slow the spread and reducing the demand on the NHS, it buys us time. Without it they would be flooded and unable to cope. If you are not scared then you should be, if not for yourself but family members who may not survive. This virus is exposing the ignorant and selfish. The people out and about visiting friends and buying stuff from face book market place are either stupid or don’t care about anyone else, including their family. You seem to fall into the former group.
viewed from one perspective…
testing is pointless – as you can pick up the virus on your way home from the test and show symptoms a week later.
This is true and I don’t understand why people don’t get that…
@beverley.. this is because most people are lapping up the dross, spoon fed to them in the mainstream media and are under the impression that testing is some sort of magic bullet that will allow everything to go back to normal.
The government go on about 100,000 tests a day by end of april – so that means it will take two years, at 100,000 a day, to test the population of the country – not ever going to happen – it is all talk.
the only real way for society to return to a full sense of normality, is time… time for the entire population of the country and further afield to have been exposed to it, time for each of us, to have developed antibodies to it, so that as it comes round again, we will see milder effects across the board. They may even have a vaccine by then, – no guarantees of that though, normal vaccines take years and years to get to market.
All this talk by the government is just that, talk, because they haven’t really go a clue what they are doing. They put up testing facilities in the middle of nowhere, looks good, but then tell everyone to stay in doors and not travel – so you cannot go to a test facility.
The only reason for the lockdown is because the NHS is ill equipped to deal with queues of people outside hospitals and no politician wants to risk their career by seeing someone dead in a queue.
Bravo, none given, an accurate post. People here are too wishy washy to want to hear the truth, so HMG can easily get away with sugar coating lies, as goes down far better than bitter truth.
Many will die soon as lockdown ends. Boris has little choice though, unless we can live on fresh air. But as you say, so long as people are dead within the hospital confines, then people will assume the Government of the UK has ‘done’ all it possibly could, so no blow back on the Tory party or the UK in general.
Ensure you make the most of now as odds not great if you have to be taken in thus far.
A trial is going on in the UK now which may bring some hope at least.
thanks Suezee
People may have good reason to think they may well have the virus – such as inadvertently being too close to someone who does, and perhaps having had an initial period during this crisis when they didn’t fully understand or couldn’t carry out ‘the rules’, for some reason. A carrier may even have forced themselves on a person. These are very good reasons to have a test – hopefully for important reassurance and to know one starts again with a clear sheet, or to get medical attention along with indiividual advice relating to their particular circumstances.
Until a vaccine becomes available, testing is the best way to prevent the spread or at least stop people spreading it amongst key essential workers, if a nurse contracted the virus and continued working he/she could spread the same unknowingly potential killing innocents without knowing it.
Further more is there a rule which says you can only be tested once? Nothing is perfect, and that includes Testing, it simply aids in preventing/slowing the spread and is NOT pointless.
We believe we have had the virus, as a primary carer being tested will confirm we are clear and will enable us to help more, whereas right now although we are clear of symptoms 4 of us had it my husband didn’t so he could be a carrier. It will have its benefits.
How will they do it? What with social distancing? If it out in the middle of nowhere it will be a pain what with the bus service cuts . No everyone drives.
You could wait and see where it will be and how it will be done, Originally Gatwick then Portsmouth, which is totally ridiculous with social distancing, transport and being on an Island.
A mobile unit on the Island does suggest it will be capable of moving around the Island, negating the need to travel long distances.
The real question has to be who will be eligible to use the service, as for the bus service cuts, they have been cut as few are using the service due to the lockdown!
Reading journalists described as key workers has given me a laugh so thoroughly needed!
About time, defeating the object having to travel to first Gatwick then Portsmouth to have a bloody test
This is the best news yet for all our key workers. Keep going all of you, we are all so very grateful. Xxxx
Pointless . All it tells you is you don’t have it on that day. What about the following day ?
Like others have stated, the test will only show a result that indicates if you had the virus on the day before and at the time of the test … it does not give anyone immunity! It allows the person to know they did or didn’t have it Then! They could unfortunately succumb to the virus after the test … on the way home, in a queue at the supermarket or in hospital… I know people need hope and goals let’s hope the vaccination trials are successful… stay safe .. keep your distance ( only a fool breaks the 2mtr rule) keep washing hands at every opportunity with soap and water ! Discard gloves and masks after each use responsibly or you run the risk of carrying the virus inside or outside the masks and gloves. Thank you for reading .
This is brilliant news for our key workers ISC have stepped up a gear to protect us hers on the Isl elf Wight
Journalists – keyworkers…??? Now that is a ridiculous assumption based on teh bleating we are seeing on the news daily…
Finally! People like Matt and Clare and quite afew offers are starting to speak out about what’s going on. Like you clare I have never posted any media ,dont do the brain washing and b.s tools either,Facebook,Twitter, etc oh and the bbc. People with open minds ,and intelligence ,can think freely, instead of having to be told how to think,and live, under continuous fear. And boy have they got all the sheep people petrified, the fear In people’s faces when you approach them is quite concerning. I thought that people would just bend over and take it,as normal. But I do see the cracks appearing in the fabrication on the virus story. People in general waking up.
But you can only test for Corona virus not actually covid 19 at the moment
how do we book an appointment
why is it only on rhe island until tuesday???