A second drive-through coronavirus mobile testing unit will open on the Isle of Wight from tomorrow (Friday) and will be available for at least the next 3 weeks.
Given the increase in cases and demand for tests, additional testing capacity has been set up to ease the pressure on the current facility at Newclose County Cricket Club.
The mobile testing unit will be at 1Leisure Medina in Newport and will be open 7 days a week, including Sundays, from 09:30 until 15:00.
The COVID-19 testing centre at Newclose has also extended its opening hours to 09:00 until 16:00 (Monday to Saturday) in order to carry out more tests as needed, but it won’t be open on Sundays.
These changes to testing on the Island increase capacity from 400 to around 800 tests per day as required.
People with COVID-19 symptoms who are unable to get a test slot online should call 119 and will then be advised of appointments at either Newclose or 1Leisure Medina.
Home testing kits can also be ordered online or via 119. These should be posted in priority post boxes: COVID-19 home test: step-by-step guide (adults and children) – GOV.UK (www.gov.uk).
Isle of Wight Council leader, Dave Stewart, said:
“I am pleased we are moving quickly on this opportunity.
“Increased testing enables us to pinpoint the virus, help those infected and isolate and protect those put at risk. The sharp rise in local cases means we must make sure people who need a test, have swift access to one.
“I am grateful to our team and our Local Resilience Forum (LRF) for pulling this initiative together so quickly and hope that increased access to testing provides reassurance to our community as we work together to get our cases down.
“This approach will also help to relieve pressure on the testing centre at Newclose and the NHS team that has been staffing the site.”
Simon Bryant, the council’s director of public health, said:
“It remains extremely important that we all stick to the guidelines and stay at home – only leave home to purchase essential items, get a COVID-19 test, for exercise or to work if you absolutely cannot work from home.
“If you develop symptoms of COVID-19, self-isolate and don’t leave home for any reason except to get a test at either Newclose or 1Leisure Medina.”
Alison Smith, managing director of NHS Clinical Commissioning Group, said:
“The Island community has been working incredibly well at keeping rates of the virus down, however we know that, like the rest of the country, the numbers have been increasing at a much greater rate.
“One of the key things we can do to continue to keep people safe is to offer more COVID-19 tests and it’s great to see we are increasing our capacity to enable this.
“Of course all of the other precautions must still remain – I remind everyone to continue to wash their hands for 20 seconds regularly, to wear a face covering when required and to maintain social distancing of two metres.”
7 days a week including Sundays!!! Is Sunday not normally included then..
Cool. I’ll nip down there tomorrow due to being an absolute dumber thanks to the media’s fear mongering. Grow up.
Do you know how many deaths we normally have each day? Roughly 1600-1700. Now, if SARS-CoV-2 is killing 1000 people each day, that’s 2600-2700, right? Problem is, that’s not true.If you stop the resting it is over…
Covid on it’s own killed 1162 people on the 7th. All cancers deaths combined is 386 a day in the UK. There is something seriously wrong with your thinking if you think this is an over reaction. And you have to remember all these deaths are WITH restrictions. It would be a lot more if we just ignored covid as you want.
Also for every death there are many more who now have damaged lungs that will affect their health for the rest of their lives.
https://coronavirus.data.gov.uk/
https://fullfact.org/health/uk-column-covid-deaths/
Some people have covid without symptoms, however, if you have no symptoms you can’t have a test…
No wonder it’s out of control…
You want everyone on the island tested weekly just in case 1 person is asymptomatic??
So say you have …..Simples
Sod the test set up rolling vaccine station 24/7
Open 7 days a week including Sundays well obviously
Just so anyone with a sniffle can get a positive result when there’s nothing wrong with them. The tests are 93% wrong so it keeps the numbers up cases up and more lockdowns
This wouldnt of happen if Dave had of got off his a** and stopped the second home owners coming over
So the fact people go to work on the mainland and people on the mainland come to work on the island has got nothing to do with the increased spread of the virus it’s all down to the second home owners is it?
Does it make sense to open a 2nd facility in Newport? Wouldn’t it have been better to site it in, say, Ryde, it has the biggest population. There is high demand at the moment, yet I have been past the Newclose site on a Sunday and the gates were shut! Surely there was a requirement.
Aahhh, but the Council is in Newport.
Correct. but every thing goes to Newport as we know. Could that be the reason for all the traffic in Newport ??? I jest not
So the highest cases in brading and sandown so lets put the test center in newport
Iv got the virus so i know what people will be feeling like and trust me you really don’t want to be driving and its a bloodly long walk.