Thousands of coronavirus home testing kits are to be sent out to people in Liverpool

Thousands of home testing kits are being sent to people in Liverpool as part of the city’s mass coronavirus testing pilot.

Around 40,000 households across the city will be sent a kit with three PCR swab tests.

So far 2,500 homes in L16 and 11,000 in L25 have been issued with kits.

Residents are asked to:

• Register the kit by following the instructions
• Choose up to three people in the household to take the test
• Take it to the designated drop-off point detailed in the package between 9am and 5pm within two days of receiving it

If they have already had a test at a mass testing centre, they can use the kit for their repeat test – but should leave at least five days between their first test and the second.

If they are shielding or cannot get to the collection point, they can arrange for a home collection by following the instructions in the pack.

They do not have to self-isolate while they await a result unless:

• They have any symptoms of coronavirus (a high temperature, a new, continuous cough or a loss or change to your sense of smell or taste)
• They’ve tested positive for coronavirus
• They live with someone who has symptoms or tested positive
• Someone in their support bubble has symptoms or tested positive
• They’re told to self-isolate by NHS Test and Trace or the NHS COVID-19 app
• They have arrived in the UK from a country with a high coronavirus risk

Picture – Liverpool City Council

Matthew Ashton, Director of Public Health, said:

“We know that not everyone will be able to get to a centre so we are focusing on some areas with testing kits over the course of the pilot.

“We want people to do the test and send it back as soon as possible, so we can get the results back to them quickly.

“We’re encouraged by the number of people who are visiting our test centres but to make a success of this we are reaching out to people in a variety of ways.

“We want everyone to play their part and do it for their families and our city. This could be a game-changing moment – it will help us to understand the spread of the virus and identify and isolate infected people faster than with symptomatic PCR testing alone.”