The new mobile community testing units rolling out on Devon's roads
Areas across the county with high COVID-19 rates will soon have access to more rapid testing
A new mobile community testing centre - which offers rapid COVID-19 tests with results within the hour - will be rolling out on Devon's roads.
It is after it was successfully trialled the Devon and Cornwall Police's Middlemoor HQ in Exeter.
It will now be able to offer rapid testing to members of the public across the county with the highest rates of coronavirus, with more mobile facilities expected to come online soon.
The mobile testing centres will be a vital part of Devon County Council's efforts to offer rapid testing to anyone who leaves their home to work or volunteer, and who may come into contact with others.
Around one in three people who have coronavirus do not show any symptoms and may unwittingly be spreading the infection.
The mobile testing units will stop in the largest communities in the parts of Devon with the highest current prevalence of COVID-19.
They will be available in Honiton, Exmouth, Axminster, Okehampton, Tavistock and Ivybridge over the coming weeks.
Lee Meaden, the Programme Manager for the Testing Programme for Public Health Devon, said:
"The big hope is that we can put them into those communities and start identifying the asymptomatic cases and just break that chain of transmission and prevent the spread of COVID-19. That will ultimately allow a faster recovery out of the pandemic for us."
Working in concert with DCC’s fixed sites in Exeter and Barnstaple - with sites at Tiverton and Newton Abbot coming online soon - the mobile testing centres will help ensure that anybody who may come into contact with the public has the opportunity to be tested quickly and easily.
"These new mobile test centres will help us to offer more rapid COVID-19 tests in more locations to those who need it.
"The tests are quick, painless and easy to book with results back within an hour via text or email. By being regularly tested it could prevent you unintentionally passing the virus to others.
"But please remember, while a positive test will require you to self-isolate at home, a negative test does not remove the need to continue following national guidance around social distancing, wearing a face covering, and washing your hands properly and regularly. These simple steps are still vital in preventing the transmission of the virus."
Steve Brown - Director of Public Health Devon
To book a rapid test and to find out more about Community Testing in Devon, click here.