Community testing offer rolled out to highest risk Tier 2 areas

The government has announced that community testing programmes will be offered to the worst-affected Tier 2 areas, in addition to Tier 3 areas, to help prevent areas moving into the toughest restrictions.

As such, local authorities who are deemed at high risk of entering Tier 3 will be invited to submit community testing proposals to help drive down transmission rates based on their in-depth knowledge of their local community.

Tier 3 areas will continue to be prioritised for community testing, with 67 local authorities in Tier 3 having already signed up to the first wave of the enhanced testing support programme, with more roll outs expected in the new year. More than 1.5 million tests have already been deployed to Tier 3 local authorities to start community testing, with testing in Warwickshire, Darlington and Medway already underway.

Following the announcement of London moving into Tier 3, community testing initiatives have been rapidly approved for all boroughs to start from next week, to help stop the spread of the virus. The government says that more than 500,000 tests will be immediately deployed to London boroughs with many more to follow.

Health and Social Care Secretary Matt Hancock said: "We are expanding the community testing offer to Tier 2 areas at significant risk of moving into Tier 3. Community testing can help drive down transmission rates in areas subject to the toughest restrictions, and now these testing programmes can also play a role in preventing areas from moving into Tier 3.

"As many as 1 in 3 people who have the virus don’t show symptoms and could be spreading the disease without knowing it. Broadening testing to identify those showing no symptoms will mean finding positive cases more quickly, and help save lives. The sooner we get this virus under control, the sooner we can ease these restrictions and get back to doing the things we love."