Rapid coronavirus test centre helping Aylesbury's residents
The lateral flow tests provide answers within around half an hour
Lateral flow tests are being used in an Aylesbury testing centre.
Aylesbury's rapid community testing initiative launched last Monday with a new venue opening at the town's Vale Retail Park.
A site in Wycombe was also opened and further sites have been opened in Buckingham and Amersham.
They follow a successful proposal to the Department of Health and Social Care to run a local service.
The goal is to stop transmission of coronavirus in the community by identifying non-symptomatic people before they can spread it.
Programme lead for Buckinghamshire, Kate Mulhearn, says its providing confidence to people who have to go into the community for work:
"So far we have had around 3 thousand tests across the sites and we've got huge capacity to test many many more.
"Key workers from Thames Valley Police, waste operatives and lots of other people in their role have been coming through.
"But this testing is eligible for anyone who has to leave home for their job or for volunteering, so for all those people who are in retail, taxi drivers, transport workers all those service workers.
"We have a booking system which is online on the Buckinghamshire Council site which is convenient for some people so they can have it in their diary.
"We very much welcome walk ins though as they don't know when they will get that break to pop in for a test, or they work shift patterns."
Visitors are greeted by staff who check their temperature if the person has symptoms first before they register their test.
They are then directed to a queueing area, before being directed to a specific booth.
The booth has a staff member seated behind a Perspex screen, with antibacterial wipes and tissues on the visitors side.
The member of staff will pass over a swab for the visitor who is instructed to touch this against both tonsils for 10 seconds before moving to the inside of the nose.
Kate says having access to lateral flow testing like this will be crucial as restrictions lift:
"As more and more people come into the community there will be more people who have the virus but no symptoms unknowingly spreading it.
"This is all about identifying those people and breaking the chain of transmission."
More about coronavirus
What is Covid-19?
Covid-19 emerged as a virus in December 2019 as the first cases are reported in Wuhan, China. Scientifically known as SARS-CoV-2, the virus created a global pandemic as it began to spread around the world. Symptoms can range from very mild to severe, causing death in some cases. Some people are completely asymptomatic and do not realise they even have the virus.
Has there been a virus like this before?
The SARS pandemic in 2003 was similar to Covid-19 in that it was also caused by a coronavirus. SARS stands for Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome. The global outbreak of SARS lasted from 2002-2003, infecting over 8,000 people and killing 774. Covid-19 and SARS are both respiratory illnesses, but SARS was much more deadly and less infectious.
What are the main symptoms?
The NHS say the main Covid-19 symptoms are a high temperature, a new and continuous cough and loss or change to taste of sense or smell. NHS advises people with Covid-19 to take plenty of rest, drink lots of fluids, and take paracetamol for a high temperature.
What was the Government reaction?
The UK Government announced the first of several lockdowns in March 2020. By the end of the month, more than 100 countries around the world introduce full or partial lockdowns, preventing people from going to work, restricting everyday tasks and affecting the livelihoods of billions of people globally.
Which countries have been worst hit?
During the first year of the pandemic, the US recorded the highest number of Covid-19 cases in the world and the most deaths, reporting an unprecedented 100,000 new cases in one day on November 4th 2020. Thousands of new cases were recorded on the same date in India (46,000+), the United Kingdom (22,000+), Brazil (17,000+) and Mexico (5,000+), while Ireland records less than 1,000 (578). Hundreds of other countries also reported a high rate of infection.
How have vaccines fought against Covid-19?
Vaccines began being approved for use across the globe. By January 2021, the UK approved the use of three different vaccines. The Pfizer-BioNtech vaccine, Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine and the Moderna vaccine are rolled out to the public, with older people and those with greater health concerns getting priority. In April 2022, just under 53 million people had received at least one dose of the vaccine.
What are new Covid variants?
Four new variants of Covid-19 were discovered around the world. Beta was found in South Africa, Gamma in Brazil and Delta in India, while the Alpha variant was first located in Kent, UK. New variants are not likely to make someone more seriously ill than Covid-19 would, but variants like Delta have a higher infection rate, meaning it can be more easily spread.
The Omicron variant was first detected late 2021 in South Africa. Since then, it has become one of the most dominant variants in the world, with its own sub strains - BA.4 and BA.5.