People living on three Merseyside streets will receive at-home tests for the South African variant of coronavirus today.
The new variant was identified in a number of locations across the country earlier this month.
Sefton Council said it was moving “swiftly” to detect and contain the new strain, after cases were confirmed in the PR9 area, which includes parts of Southport.
People living in the town’s Norwood, Cambridge and Dukes wards are being prioritised for testing.
Everyone aged 16 or over within the target areas are urged to get a test.
Two dedicated mobile testing units have been set up – one at Southport Theatre and Convention Centre on the town’s Promenade, the other at the former Kew park-and-ride site.
Both are open seven days a week and are specifically for people within the target areas who don’t have any coronavirus symptoms.
See how coronavirus is currently impacting your local area by entering your postcode below:
Teams are also visiting addresses within the target areas will deliver home testing and, where possible, will wait while people test themselves.
Sefton Council’s Healthy Sefton team today tweeted that people living on Queens Road, Manchester Road and Hawkshead Street will receive home testing kits today.
Anyone calling with one of these tests will carry clear identification. They will not ask for any money or request anyone’s financial details and neither will they enter people’s homes.
Aside from getting a test, residents should be staying at home as much as possible and only be going out for essential purposes; such as shopping for essential supplies, going to work if unable to do so from home, providing care and daily exercise.
Margaret Jones, Sefton Council’s Director of Public Health, said: “Everyone in all of our communities should continue to follow the national lockdown restrictions in order to protect our most vulnerable.
“There are no additional restrictions in place for those areas where surge testing is being carried out but we do encourage residents of those areas take extra care and try to limit their time away from home.
“People who live and work in these surge areas can use either of two dedicated testing units, as long as they don’t have coronavirus symptoms of a high temperature, persistent new cough or a loss of taste or smell.
“It doesn’t take long to get a test and some people may want to call in for theirs while they are out taking their daily exercise.”
