Council update on Coronavirus testing

We’d like to thank residents for raising their issues with the national coronavirus testing system. We are aware of this national issue and sympathise with your frustrations.

We have been advised by the Department of Health and Social Care that, at the moment, you should only go to any of our testing sites if you have already registered and booked an appointment.

And, for now, you should also only book an appointment if you are showing signs of coronavirus.

We understand this is different to previous information we have issued but this is a fast moving scenario – we are receiving new information from Government all the time and things are rapidly changing.

We are also aware of the issues with the booking system. We are urgently seeking clarity on this as well as a number of other issues around testing given our status as an area of intervention.

For now, whilst the Government is scaling up its testing capacity, the service is currently very busy. If you try to book a test and are unable to do so, or are offered a location or time which is not convenient, please wait a few hours and then try again.

We will provide a further update when we get further information on any changes to testing arrangements and who can get tested.

Our website has been updated with the latest position.