Two specific coronavirus testing stations have been set up in Carmarthenshire and Ceredigion.
Hywel Dda University Health Board has announced that coronavirus testing units (CTUs) have been opened at undisclosed locations in Carmarthen and Cardigan, and admitted that more might open in other areas of west and mid Wales during the coming weeks.
The units are said to allow the health service to undertake more checks than can be achieved through home testing alone.
People will be eligible only by calling 111 and by making a prior appointment. They will then be asked to make their way to the unit in their own cars, before undergoing an initial clinical assessment and a throat swab test.
The health board said the CTUs posed no risk to the public because “stringent infection prevention measures are in place to protect people, staff and the wider community”, and that home testing would continue in certain circumstances.
Those measures include strict clinical protocols, specific instruction for those attending a CTU, the use of separate entrances and exits, and the use of protective equipment.
Hywel Dda University Health Board said the move to open both locations was part of a "planned response".
“We are extremely proud of our staff in Hywel Dda University Health Board who are working hard to protect the health of our communities in response to COVID-19,” said Ros Jervis, the health board's director of public health.
“We are working with our local, regional and national partners to implement our planned response and stringent infection control measures.
“Like other health boards, we have been undertaking tests for COVID-19 in people’s own homes. The demand for this is likely to get greater and we have planned additional capacity to deal with this by opening our CTUs.
"This will allow us to undertake far more tests for appropriate patients, who have used the 111 pathway.
“We are grateful for the co-operation of our communities.”
The public have been warned that “under no circumstances” should they enter the CTU facilities without a prior appointment.
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The specific location of both units, in Carmarthen and Cardigan, will not be made available to the wider public due to the need to “protect patient confidentiality, allow for contingency arrangements to be made and for the safeguarding of staff”.
The health board has reiterated that anyone who is concerned that they may have coronavirus is advised not to attend a GP surgery, a hospital emergency department or any health setting, but rather they should visit the NHS Direct Wales website or follow advice issued by Public Health Wales.
