A Mobile Testing Unit (MTU) for key workers and members of their household will be available in North East Lincolnshire this week. The MTU will be available for three days this week at the Duchess Street Car Park in Grimsby.

The site will be open at the following times, for people with booked appointments only:

• Tuesday, 28th April 12pm to 2pm
• Wednesday, 29th April 11am to 3pm
• Thursday, 30th April 11am to 3pm

The mobile site is not open to the general public, but has been established in conjunction with the Humber Bridge Regional Testing Centre for key workers who are self-isolating because they or a household member has Covid-19 symptoms. A negative test will help enable staff to return to work much quicker, whilst a positive test will mean that the individual and their employer can take steps to reduce the chances of further spread of the virus.

Over the coming weeks, the mobile unit will provide access to testing for key workers in other areas in the Humber region. Exact sites and dates will be released in due course.

The testing service has now been extended beyond the priority areas in Health and Social Care to all key workers including  those working on COMAH sites or those in pharmaceuticals, schools, food production, transport, supermarkets and delivery staff (full list is on the gov.uk website).

These workers can be put forward for testing by their employer if they have those arrangements in place, but can now also book it themselves by using the self-referral route: https://self-referral.test-for-coronavirus.service.gov.uk/

Chris Blacksell, Chair of the Humber Local Resilience Forum, said: “The Regional Testing Centre at the Humber Bridge has been very well attended and I thank those individuals and employers who have booked their places online and been patient when arriving on site.

“The addition of this mobile site in Grimsby will further increase the numbers tested each day in our region and give health partners and employers a much clearer picture of the local levels of confirmed cases.

“We would naturally expect the number of positive cases of coronavirus reported in the Humber region to increase sharply this week as the results come back through the system. This should not alarm anyone, it will simply allow the NHS to be better informed and prepare their staffing and resources accordingly.”

Find out more here