Free Covid test plan for Portsmouth as cases rises
The city is providing testing kits beyond March 31 in UK first
People in Portsmouth will still have access to free Covid tests beyond April, under a scheme believed to be the first of its kind in the country.
With cases rising, Portsmouth City Council has drawn up plans to provide free home test kits beyond the end of the government scheme on March 31.
Council leader Gerald Vernon-Jackson said: "I’m very worried about infection rates and we need to be supporting people who are being responsible and trying to do the right thing and get tested before seeing vulnerable friends and family members."
He said the government’s decision to scrap the provision of free testing under its ‘Living with Covid-19’ plan was a "disgrace".
The council scheme, which will be considered by its cabinet on Tuesday, would allow anyone with a Portsmouth address to collect five free lateral flow tests a month until the end of June.
"We can’t step in forever but we will do so until the summer when hopefully infection rates will have fallen, as we have seen the last two years," Cllr Vernon-Jackson added.
Collection points would be set up at libraries and community centres and would be monitored through an online database.
A report by director of public health Helen Atkinson estimates take-up to be about 10 per cent of households in the city with 30,000 tests purchased. The scheme is expected to cost between £316,000 and £365,000.
She said it would ensure people are not dissuaded from taking tests due to the cost of buying them.
"Locally, there is recognition of the need to adopt the Living with Covid approach, but an equal recognition that some people will need to be supported towards this new approach, and a desire to ensure that no-one should find themselves disadvantaged as a result of needing to purchase tests, particularly given high levels of income deprivation in the city and the rising cost of living," her report says.
The infection rate in Portsmouth increased by 74 per cent last week with figures showing the number of patients at QA Hospital with Covid-19 rose by 50 per cent over the same period.
The city had an infection rate of 630 cases per 100,000 people in the first week of March, which is above the England average but slightly below the average for the South East.
The decision to continue providing free tests in the city has been welcomed as "a great idea".
"We have seen an increase in cases in both the elderly age groups and in those of school age," Kirsty Mellor, Labour group spokesman for health said.
"It’s important people have that ability to be able to take a test so we are aware of who has Covid so we can keep everyone safe"
The council also considered a more limited provision for vulnerable people and to target specific outbreaks and the council already has a stock of 54,000 supervised test kits from the government to do this.
But Steve Bonner, the chairman of Pompey Pensioners, said the decision to support a wider scheme would be more beneficial.
"Covid numbers are rising across every age group and that is a concern," he said. "It’s essential we have the ability to spot where they are rising so that vulnerable people can be aware of the risks.
"But there’s also a need to make sure that people are not put off from testing for financial reasons. This support should continue and I welcome this."
Funding for the scheme will come from the remaining £700,000 awarded to the council through the government’s "Contain Outbreak Management Fund".