A NEW walk-through coronavirus testing centre has opened in Aylesbury.
Testing is only available for those with COVID-19 symptoms — such as a continuous cough, a loss or change in smell or taste, and a high temperature — at Buckinghamshire Council’s Gateway Car Park.
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Those being tested will be required to follow public health measures, including social distancing and wearing a face mask, while at the test centre.
Testing at the site started today (Tuesday, October 20), and the new location is part of the largest network of diagnostic testing facilities created in British history.
Everyone with symptoms can book or order a test at nhs.uk/coronavirus.
Those who take tests at the site can expect their results the next day, according to a press release from the Department for Health and Social Care.
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Baroness Dido Harding, Interim Executive Chair of the National Institute for Health Protection, said: “Our new walkthrough sites offer communities better access to coronavirus testing, so everyone with symptoms can get a test. This new site is part of our ongoing work to expand testing across the UK to deliver 500,000 tests a day by the end of October.
“Please book a test if you have coronavirus symptoms: a new continuous cough, a high temperature and a loss or change in sense of smell or taste.
“Everybody should continue to think hands, face, space, and follow the advice of NHS Test and Trace if you are contacted – this is the only way we can return to a more normal way of life.”
Anyone testing positive for the virus in England will be contacted by NHS Test and Trace to help them track their contacts. This will help people to identify who they may have been in close contact with, protecting others from further transmission.
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Close contacts of those testing positive will also hear from NHS Test and Trace, asking them to stay at home for 14 days to prevent them from unknowingly spreading the virus. They will be advised to also book a test if they develop symptoms.
Health Minister Lord Bethell said: “We continue to expand testing to make sure that everyone with symptoms can get a test, with our new walk-in sites making it even easier no matter where you live.
“This new site forms part of our national testing network, which has the capacity to test more than a million people a week and is growing all the time.
“If you have symptoms of coronavirus, I urge you to book a test today and follow the advice of NHS Test and Trace if you are contacted to protect others around you and stop the spread of the virus.”
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