Hampshire pharmacies to provide supervised Covid tests
FREE supervised Covid-19 testing for residents without symptoms is available at participating pharmacies across Hampshire from Monday, along with collection of kits for home testing.
The roll-out was announced as Hampshire County Council’s director of public health, Simon Bryant, urged people to get into the habit of testing twice a week amid the continued easing of the nationwide lockdown restrictions.
“Rapid testing on a regular basis gives us all peace of mind that we are not putting our family, friends, co-workers or communities at risk, and pharmacies offer a quick and convenient means of getting a test or collecting a kit to self-test at home,” Mr Bryant said.
“Make test-record-repeat part of your weekly routine to help suppress the spread of the virus and protect the people around you.”
Over 200 pharmacies in the county already hand out the nose and throat swab lateral flow tests; and 40 of them are set to offer the supervised on-site testing. These include branches of Lloyds in New Milton and Ringwood.
It is a drop-in service, but people are advised to phone ahead if possible so appointments can be scheduled and waiting times reduced. Anyone aged 12 and over is eligible, but those aged 12-15 must be accompanied by a parent or guardian.
Adults aged over 18 can collect test kits from participating pharmacies for themselves and their household, with one pack of seven provided per person.
Anyone who receives a positive result from a lateral flow test must self-isolate immediately, along with any other members of their household, and book a PCR test to confirm. Those who test negative must still follow the ‘hands, face, space’ restrictions. All results should be recorded.
Details of pharmacies in Hampshire offering supervised lateral flow tests can be found online at https://bit.ly/3gvgM8Z
Community testing sites will continue to offer supervised lateral flow testing for those without symptoms until Friday 30th April, as well as test kit collection. For more information visit https://bit.ly/2RMR2e0
