Fylde Council has increased its lateral flow testing capacity with the addition of a new mobile testing unit.
The van, which will come into service on Tuesday 27th April 2021, will be placed in strategic locations across Fylde to carry out regular asymptomatic testing within the community.
Its first confirmed location will be in the car park at B&Q at Whitehills Retail Park from 9.30 until 4.00pm every Tuesday morning.
Other locations are being considered to complement the SMART testing centres in Kirkham, Lytham and St Annes.
It is part of the area’s significant testing capacity which also includes the permanent PCR testing site at the Beach Cafe car park as well as mobile testing units in Kirkham, Freckleton, Elswick and Staining.
Richard Hurt, Fylde Council’s Health Protection Practitioner, is delighted that the new testing van is hitting the road.
He said: “As we progress along the national roadmap to unlocking it is really important that people test regularly to ensure they aren’t asymptomatically carrying the virus.
“We want to offer people as many opportunities as possible to be tested and this van is the latest in a long line of testing initiatives launched by Fylde Council.
“There are plans in the pipeline to secure regular locations across the borough so that anyone who doesn’t have symptoms can attend for regular testing at a time and place convenient to them.
“This supports the national strategy where anyone can order lateral flow tests online or collect them from pharmacies and other locations.
“If people have symptoms, or are generally feeling unwell they must be tested at one of the five PCR testing sites in Fylde.
“The infection rate in Fylde is low and decreasing, so we must all play our part to ensure we keep our community safe by stopping the virus in its tracks. Regular testing means we can continue to get back to doing all the things we love.”
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