Surrey residents advised to have two coronavirus tests a week

Surrey’s public health director is advising everyone to do a Covid test twice a week as part of the strategy to get back to normal life.

The Government has announced from Friday, everyone in England is being offered free tests and kits could be delivered to your door.

There's an emphasis on people who don't have symptoms - but who could then pass the virus onto others.

There are also 26 sites across the county, with the result texted and emailed within around half an hour.

Public health director Ruth Hutchinson said it was only with getting vaccinated, following the guidelines and having regular testing that we could ‘get back to normal’.

“From March 29 up to six people can meet outside,” she said. “One in three people with Covid don’t have any symptoms but they can still spread the virus.

“Remember the Government has been very clear that it will be data, not dates, that will ensure we reach the next stages of the ‘roadmap’.

“Please adhere to ‘hands, face, space, fresh air ‘. Our rates are going down but we’ve still got to be alert.”

Lateral flow devices (LFD) are effective at detecting cases with high levels of virus, so will detect the people most likely to spread it.

The appointment will be a case of swabbing yourself, but with supervision.

“We know precision is more accurate when it’s done on site, where there’s help if necessary,” said Ms Hutchinson.

According to the Department of Health and Social Care, the risk of getting a false positive is less than one in a thousand, meaning if you get a positive result it is hugely likely you are in fact infected and will need to self-isolate at once.

To be super thorough, anyone testing positive will be asked to confirm it with a PCR test, which will allow genotype assay testing to spot any variants of the virus.

A negative LFD result is not as precise, and so should not give people a false sense of security.

“Even with a negative test it’s really important to still follow the guidance,” said Ms Hutchinson.

At the moment the number of coronavirus cases is highest among the 30-39 age group.

This is followed by those aged 10-19, which she attributes partly to secondary school age children already being tested twice a week.

“The 30-39 age group haven’t had the vaccine yet and society is opening up as per the ‘roadmap’. They’re more likely to be out and about and possibly cannot work from home,” she said.

“With age 10-19, part of that is because we’re assessing them regularly so that’s a good thing, because then we can take necessary action.

“It’s a key part of getting back to normal, and the schools have been phenomenal.”

She expects all over-50s in Surrey to have been offered the vaccine by mid-April, when it will be opened up to the over-45s.

The symptom-free testing centres are open Monday to Friday 8am-7pm. To find a site and book a test, visit: http://www.surreycc.gov.uk/symptomfreecovidtesting

Anyone who actually has symptoms should instead book through NHS.uk or by calling 119, as tests for symptomatic people are carried out at different sites.