Rapid coronavirus testing centres for people not displaying symptoms to open this Wednesday
By Owen Sheppard, Local Democracy Reporter
Hammersmith and Fulham council has postponed the opening of its two rapid test centres until this week.
The two test centres will be located at the Sands End Arts and Community Centre in Peterborough Road, and an office building at 145 King Street.
They will offer residents who are not displaying symptoms the new lateral flow tests, which can provide results within 30 minutes.
Residents who are showing symptoms should not try to visit these sites, and should instead order a standard PCR swab test to be delivered to their home, via the NHS website.
The two centres had been due to open on Monday, December 21.
They will now open on Wednesday and residents are advised to book an appointment via the council’s website.
A third site in Shepherd’s Bush was also due to offer the lateral flow tests. Instead, the council has said a “mobile testing centre” will be set up, where residents can receive the PCR test.
The council says postponement was due to operational changes needing to be made, following the announcement that London would be placed in tier 4.
However, it did not comment on what these changes were or the problems behind them.
The Sands End and King Street rapid test sites will be open at the following times:
- Wednesday, December 30, noon until 8pm
- Thursday, December 31, 9am until 4pm
- Seven-days-a-week from January 2 until February 1, 9am until 8pm
Latest Government figures show that Hammersmith and Fulham’s infection rate in the seven days before December 18 was 434 positive cases per 100,000 residents. This was after 804 new cases were confirmed.