The former House of Fraser building in Birkenhead is set to open as a symptom-free testing centre next week.
The Grange Road building will run Covid-19 tests for people who do not have symptoms from Monday.
The decision means that the Birkenhead Market centre will close after testing is completed tomorrow.
Last week, Wirral Council confirmed it had bought the former House of Fraser building as part of its regeneration plans for Birkenhead.
Cllr Yvonne Nolan, chair of Wirral Council’s adult social care and public health committee, said: “I would like to thank all of the traders at Birkenhead Market for their support.
“The market was only ever viewed as a short-term option until we could identify a more suitable venue.
“Although the former House of Fraser department store has been purchased to support wider regeneration plans, until those plans are ready to be put into action, it makes great sense to utilise what is a fantastic space for the symptom-free testing.”
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The Labour councillor noted the importance of maintaining an asymptomatic testing base in Birkenhead.
She added: “It is important that the borough’s largest town centre, surrounded as it is by businesses who need to carry on operating during the lockdown and whose staff will benefit from priority access to regular and repeated testing will be able to get tested at a venue that is convenient to them.”
There are three other asymptomatic testing centres in Wirral.
These are located at The Floral Pavilion in New Brighton, Greasby Library and Eastham Library and open between 10.30am and 6.15pm every day of the week.
To ensure key workers and those people who simply cannot work from home have access to testing when they need it, symptom-free testing in Wirral is now by appointment only.
The following groups will be given priority when booking appointments :
- Essential workers who cannot work from home
- Anyone else who cannot work from home
- Unpaid carers who have to leave home
- Anyone who has been asked to get a test before going to a medical appointment
To book an appointment at Wirral’s symptom-free test centres click here.
