Free COVID Home Testing Kits Available at Yorkshire Coast Pharmacies

Everyone in England is being urged to take two free rapid coronavirus tests a week - even if they don't have symptoms.

From today (Friday 9 April) everyone in England will be able to access free, regular, rapid COVID-19 testing.

The government hopes a huge surge in testing will help identify and control variants of Covid.

People will be able to pick up the kits from pharmacies, workplaces, community testing centres and by delivery.

A number of pharmacies on the Yorkshire Coast will be providing the kits and details are available using a new interactive map available here https://maps.test-and-trace.nhs.uk/

To encourage people to get into the habit of using lateral flow tests twice a week, a major public information campaign is launching which will run across TV, radio, press, digital, out-of-home advertising and social media, with the TV advert airing for the first time on ITV at around 7:15pm on Friday 9 April.

The campaign explains that rapid lateral flow tests show results in under 30 minutes, and by taking them we can take the ‘next step safely’, protecting our loved ones, customers, workmates and friends as we continue to cautiously ease restrictions. It also demonstrates how people can fit these free, rapid tests into their morning routine to help create the new testing habit that will help to get us back to normal life.

Health and Social Care Secretary Matt Hancock said:

Around 1 in 3 people have coronavirus without any symptoms, so getting tested regularly is one of the simplest and easiest ways we can keep ourselves and our loved ones safe. I’d encourage everyone to take up the offer and test twice a week.

Alongside the successful roll-out of the vaccination programme, rapid testing will be one of our most effective weapons in tackling this virus and ensuring we can cautiously reopen our economy and parts of society that we have all missed.

The British people have made a tremendous effort throughout the pandemic and I am confident they will do the same now by taking up this offer of free, rapid tests.

Around 1 in 3 people with COVID-19 do not experience any symptoms and may be spreading the virus unwittingly. Rapid testing detects cases quickly, meaning positive cases can isolate immediately, and by making rapid tests available to everyone, more cases will be detected, breaking chains of transmission and saving lives.

TV doctor and practising NHS GP Dr Zoe Williams said:

Twice-weekly testing will be crucial in helping us manage the spread of the virus as society starts to reopen. The tests are quick and easy to do, and results come back in 30 minutes. Key workers such as myself and my colleagues have been carrying these out for the last few months, and it’s amazing how quickly they have become second nature to us.

However, it’s important to remember that there is not one silver bullet in the fight against COVID-19, and even with a negative test result, we must still follow social distancing guidelines – hands, face, space, fresh air, and go for our vaccines when called.

Recent analysis from NHS Test and Trace shows that for every 1,000 rapid lateral flow tests carried out, there is fewer than one false positive result. Rapid lateral flow tests detect cases with high levels of virus and are very effective in finding people who do not have symptoms but are very likely to transmit the disease.

Getting a rapid test is quick and convenient. Regular, rapid testing will be delivered through:

• a home ordering service, which allows people to order lateral flow tests online to be delivered to their home
• workplace testing programmes, on-site or at home
• community testing, offered by all local authorities
• collection at a local polymerase chain reaction (PCR) test site during specific test collection time windows
• testing on-site at schools and colleges
• collection from participating pharmacies

If testing at home, individuals will need to register their results online or by calling 119. They should self-isolate if they get a positive result and order a confirmatory PCR test.

Anyone with symptoms of COVID-19 – a high temperature, a new continuous cough, or a loss or change to your sense of smell or taste – should book a PCR test online or by calling 119.