A huge community effort to get the testing done saw Lambeth council work with dozens of volunteers who braved the cold weather to help local residents take part in the enhanced coronavirus detection efforts.
Cllr Jim Dickson, Lambeth’s Cabinet Member Health & Social Care, said: “Thank you to everyone in the area who came forward to get tested, and thank you to everyone who worked so hard to make this important piece of work happen.
“We had more than 50 volunteers from the community and the council helping out, hitting the pavements to drop off and collect the PCR Covid-19 testing kits from people’s homes. It was a really good effort and their contribution is rightly being hailed.”
Any positive Covid-19 tests which are found as a result of our targeted testing, along with those from other targeted testing areas across the country, are being sent for genomic sequencing to identify any variants of the coronavirus.
This will help us to better understand the local situation and prevent any spread of Covid-19 variants as the Government works with communities to increase vaccine take-up and carefully removes restrictions, in line with its road-map out of lockdown.
Symptom-free testing will continue to be available in the borough for those who have to leave home for work, and other reasons, during the National lockdown: stay at home restrictions. These rapid and free tests are important as one in three people are asymptomatic, but can still spread the virus without knowing.
Currently you can get a rapid test at the following locations:
- Lambeth Town Hall, open from 9am to 4.20pm
- Brockwell Park, open from 9am to 3.30pm
- Streatham Library, open from 3pm to 7.20pm (Wednesday to Sunday)
- Lilian Baylis Technology School, open from 9am to 1.30pm
- St John’s Church, Waterloo, open from 8am to 10.30am
To book visit lambeth.gov.uk/book-rapid-covid-19-test – and you can get tested again after 7 days. They will be operating new longer opening hours from Monday, March 1.
If you have coronavirus symptoms you should book a test at nhs.uk/coronavirus, via the NHS Covid-19 app or call 119.
