Army opens new coronavirus testing site in Lancaster

A temporary testing centre for coronavirus has opened at the Upper St Leonardsgate Car Park in central Lancaster.
A temporary testing centre for coronavirus has been set up at the Upper St Leonard's Gate Car Park in central LancasterA temporary testing centre for coronavirus has been set up at the Upper St Leonard's Gate Car Park in central Lancaster
A temporary testing centre for coronavirus has been set up at the Upper St Leonard's Gate Car Park in central Lancaster

Organised by the Department of Health and Social Care, working with the armed forces, the site can accommodate around 400 people per day.

Military personnel wearing face masks will be directing traffic into the car park, and then to a designated testing point.

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The car park will be closed to normal traffic between Monday and Wednesday.

The new Covid-19 testing centre at St Leonardsgate car park in LancasterThe new Covid-19 testing centre at St Leonardsgate car park in Lancaster
The new Covid-19 testing centre at St Leonardsgate car park in Lancaster

Tests will be taking place until Wednesday (May 6), between 9.30am and 3.30pm, and appointments can be arranged through the Government's coronavirus testing webpage.

The government have updated their eligibility for testing. As well as key workers, it now includes anyone showing symptoms, who is also aged over 65 or working at a different place to their home.

Dr Sakthi Karunanithi, director of public health for Lancashire, said: "We know that this situation is a difficult time for people. Through testing we can understand more about the scale of this situation and help us to bring normal life back again, once it's appropriate to do so.

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"Mobile testing sites helps us to prioritise certain areas, by adding additional capacity for a short time where it will have the most benefit.

"By testing key workers and their families if they're showing symptoms, we can keep vital services running at this time and protect the key workers themselves."

Other testing sites are already in operation at Preston College and Royal Blackburn Hospital, and a new centre has also opened at the Nye Bevan Swimming Pool car park in Skelmersdale this week.

The Lancashire Resilience Forum said it is working with partner organisations to create additional mobile and satellite testing sites in the county. This will include mobile testing for care home staff.

People experiencing symptoms must follow the government and NHS advice.

You can find out more or book a coronavirus test here.