Lincolnshire County Council’s Public Health Covid-19 Testing Bus is launching this week, offering supervised lateral flow tests for people without symptoms, and providing community testing kits.
“This is another addition to our community testing programme and will help us to identify Covid amongst those people who are showing no signs of having the infection”, said Councillor Martin Hill, Leader of Lincolnshire County Council and Chair of the Lincolnshire Outbreak Engagement Board. “We’ll use the bus at various locations around the county where it might be most needed. It provides a quick and easy way for local residents who might be out shopping or taking a stroll to pop in and take a supervised lateral flow test or pick up test kits. Not only will it give people peace of mind with an on-the-spot testing opportunity, it will also provide us with extra data on infection rates – even more important with the new Omicron variant emerging.”
The county council have joined forces with Stagecoach to provide the bright green bus providing rapid testing with results within 30 minutes. Or residents can pick up test kits to use and make sure they aren’t infected before visiting family and friends with vulnerable members, large indoor events or other high-risk environments. Staff will be on hand to provide advice and guidance on testing.
“The testing bus is a timely boost for our testing programme in Lincolnshire”, added Natalie Liddle, Acting Head of Service – Health Protection. “The bus will be used in locations across the county where our data shows it is most needed, for example areas of high deprivation, low vaccination uptake and areas where there are high infection rates. The bus will provide residents with quick and easy access to lateral flow testing.”
“Please remember this is for asymptomatic testing - if you do have symptoms then you must self-isolate and book a PCR test. Don’t take a lateral flow test if you are displaying symptoms. It's important that if you are eligible for a jab then take up the offer. Covid hasn't gone away - getting the vaccine is the best way to protect yourself and others from infection. We all need to take personal responsibility to do what we can to keep each other as safe as possible and reduce infection rates across the county."