Cleanzine: your weekly cleaning and hygiene industry newsletter 25th April 2024 Issue no. 1111
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New scheme will evaluate effectiveness of asymptomatic testing for people in high-contact professions such as cleaning
The UK Department of Health has launched a pilot to evaluate the effectiveness of testing people without Coronavirus symptoms, who work in high-contact professions such as cleaning, taxi driving and retail, to see if there is demand for testing amongst these kinds of workers, and how they are affected by the virus.
This targeted, asymptomatic swab testing will take place from tomorrow as part of a close partnership with Government, local authorities and a number of employers, with tens of thousands of tests offered to selected groups.
Partners involved in the trial include Mitie, Addison Lee, BT and Boots UK, and there will also be testing of groups identified by local authorities in Bradford, Newham, Brent and Oldham, as being more vulnerable to the virus. Each business will receive thousands of tests for staff via home test delivery or a mobile testing unit, while local authorities will use capacity by booking in specific times for asymptomatic testing at their walk-through local test sites.
Those who test positive through targeted asymptomatic testing will need to self-isolate as normal and follow national guidance. Positive results will be shared with NHS Test and Trace, in order to identify recent contacts, advise them to self-isolate and prevent further transmission of the virus.
"We are committed to continually improving NHS Test and Trace, to reach more people at risk of passing the virus on as quickly as possible," says executive chair of NHS Test & Trace, Dido Harding.
16th July 2020