Covid-19 rapid lateral flow tests are now available for anyone who is over the age of 18 who lives in the same home as a primary school, secondary school or college age student.

As more pupils and students return to the classroom the Government has asked that all adults who live in households with primary school, secondary school and college age children, including childcare and support bubbles, test themselves twice a week. Arrangements are already in place for the testing of secondary school pupils and primary and secondary school staff who will also receive regular testing through schools.

People can order home testing kits online at www.gov.uk/order-coronavirus-rapid-lateral-flow-tests or by calling 119 and are asked to take a test twice a week. They are easy to use and give results in 30 minutes. Those who test positive must immediately self-isolate to avoid passing the virus on to others. Rapid testing aims to test as many people as possible to help stop the spread of infections – especially as places, such as schools, start to reopen to more pupils.

There are other ways people can access testing:

  • Employers may already be offering  regular testing through their  workplace either at work or from home.
  • If you do not have symptoms you can also visit one of the asymptomatic testing sites across Nottinghamshire. Follow this link to access an asymptomatic  testing centre near you: https://maps.test-and-trace.nhs.uk/findatestcenter.html
  • More details will be issued as soon as this service is fully available across Nottingham and Nottinghamshire.  

Jonathan Gribbin, Director of Public Health for Nottinghamshire said: “As we know around one-third of people with Covid-19 don’t have any symptoms but can still pass it on. Testing people without symptoms can help identify cases quickly and help break the chain of transmission.

“Rapid testing is an important measure put in place to enable us to live safely in the year ahead. Each positive case identified can help prevent many additional people from becoming infected over time. Many parents will have received a letter from their school asking them to access regular testing and I encourage people to come forward for regular testing and to make it a part of daily life.”

Alison Challenger, Director of Public Health in Nottingham, said: “I would urge every school and college parent to take up the offer of regular testing. We need to support our schools, our teachers and our pupils by joining them and taking the free, simple tests each week that will quickly determine whether someone has Covid-19.

“For most, this will offer the peace of mind that a negative test brings. For the small number of families that might have a positive test result, this will allow them to immediately isolate and stop the further spread of the virus.

“Coupled with vaccinations, testing is the path out of this pandemic – and will allow us to return to something more like a normal life again over the coming weeks and months, provided we continue to follow the guidance around ‘hands, face, space’.

For further details on getting an asymptomatic test, visit the Government website.