Coronavirus West Berkshire: Community home testing kits available from 4 centres

Lateral flow testing kits available from sites in Newbury, Thatcham, Burghfield and Hungerford

Home coronavirus testing kits will be available in West Berkshire from today (Tuesday).

The community collect kits are available to families and households of school children, members of support bubbles with children, early years/childcare providers and jobs such as school bus drivers and sports coaches.

West Berkshire Council said that home lateral flow test (LFT) kits will be available from testing sites at Highwood Copse Primary School, Thatcham Rugby Club, Hungerford Rugby Football Club and Burghfield Community Sports Association from today (Tuesday, March 30)

Home test kits are also available from the Newbury Showground testing site.

Kits are also available to eligible people through the online booking system which can be accessed here.

The council has widened the criteria to anyone who has a valid reason to travel or interact with others, including care home visitors, parents/carers who wish to undertake supervised tests before using the home test kits, or anyone who does not have access to a testing kit via another route.

The council encouraged people to take up the offer of twice-weekly (LFT) testing. It said it is important that those who are eligible come along to one of the sites and be regularly tested to minimise the spread of Covid-19.

All businesses, including those with less than 50 employees, can apply for the free Covid-19 working testing programme until tomorrow. In the meantime, self-employed and small businesses (under 50 employees) can visit district testing sites for twice weekly testing.

The Government has also announced that LFT testing will continue beyond March 31 until at least the end of June 2021.

The council said that this would result in existing sites needing to be relocated.

A lateral flow test can be booked here.

The centres opened in February to to prevent essential workers who may be asymptomatic from transmitting the virus without realising.