Mass testing 'key' in battling Covid-19 in the West Midlands
Mass testing needs to be rolled out across the Black Country and Staffordshire as soon as possible in the fight against Covid-19, leaders said today.
Blanket testing is ‘key’ in tackling the coronavirus pandemic – but Wolverhampton Council leader Ian Brookfield said the results need to be available within 10 or 15 minutes for it to be effective.
It comes as Liverpool prepares to trial a mass testing scheme, with 2,000 members of the military working with NHS staff to offer repeat testing to all those living and working in the city from this Friday.
Public health chief for Wolverhampton Council John Denley added: “We’ve said all along that testing is key to getting on top of the coronavirus pandemic.
“Mass testing should provide the opportunity to identify cases early on, tackle outbreaks and help win the battle against Covid-19 and so we await the results of the pilot scheme in Liverpool with interest.”
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However, Wolverhampton Council leader Mr Brookfield said he couldn’t understand the overall benefit of the testing programme in Liverpool, and said the test results needed to be turned around faster.
The scheme in Liverpool aims to give people their results within an hour – but Councillor Brookfield is hoping Wolverhampton will be part of a scheme that will give results within 15 minutes.
He said: “I’d much rather we have testing that gives you an instant result, in 10 or 15 minutes.
“Imagine that in a hospital or school environment. Rather than send everyone home to self-isolate, you could test people and within 10 minutes you’ll know whether you can give everyone the all clear, or if they need to isolate.
“It allows people to carry on with what they’re doing, whether that’s learning, working or helping in hospital. That’s the pilot Wolverhampton is pitching for – it’s quicker and I think there are real benefits to it. There are negotiations going on but I’m not at liberty to discuss the details yet, but we are seriously looking at it.”
Andy Street, the Mayor of the West Midlands, said: "Mass testing with a highly effective test, track, and isolate programme is one of the ways we will be able to live with the virus and not have to keep locking the country down.
"The Liverpool mass testing pilot is very interesting, and proves that the Government knows it needs to improve its testing and tracing in the coming weeks to help give people confidence that their sacrifices as part of the second national lockdown will not be in vain."
