BBC Radio Hereford and Worcester

People in parts of Redditch will be offered Covid tests on their doorstep from tomorrow as officials try to track down cases of the South Africa variant.

Image source, Reuters

Worcestershire County Council said fewer than 10 cases have currently been identified and none are linked to international travel.

The council's map of the affected site, external includes areas around Webheath, Southcrest and Headless Cross.

A mobile testing unit has been set up on Thursday at the Abbey Road Stadium and public health director Dr Kathryn Cobain said door-to-door testing will begin on Friday.

"There is the mobile testing unit there as well but people will be coming door-to-door so people can sit tight and wait for their test to come to their door," she said.

But NHS Grampian says it could be a further two weeks before figures show real signs of returning to normal.

Another large vaccination centre has opened in the region.

It's at Hexham Mart and will be able to vaccinate up to 800 people a day and is open from 08:00 to 20:00.

Northumberland's director of public heath, Liz Morgan, said: "People living in our rural communities have opted not to go to the Centre for Life in Newcastle, preferring to wait for their GP to contact them because for many people it's a long way for them to travel and not everyone has a car, so being able to provide access like this is a really important step forward."

Among the first people receiving the vaccine was Helen Anderson (pictured above) who's seven months pregnant with her third child, and said it was good to get the jab close to home: "You can fit it into how your life works with school runs and it cuts down on the travel time, so it's much better to be local."

There are eight other mass vaccination centres in operation across the North East and Cumbria, at Nightingale Centres, football grounds, sports and shopping centres, as well as at Penrith auction mart.

A "small number of cases" are discovered in the Abbey Ward area, public health bosses say.

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Residents say Bolton "has just been very unlucky" as it braces itself against a surge in Covid cases.

Peer-reviewed research suggests the contact-tracing app prevented between 284,000 and 594,000 cases.

The impact of vaccinations can be seen in estimates of people with antibody protection against Covid.

Secondary school pupils in Selby are being advised to continue to wear face masks in the classroom from next week despite a change in government guidance.

Image source, Danny Lawson/PA

Face coverings have been recommended since the return to school in March - but that will end on Monday as part of the phasing out of lockdown measures.

However, Louise Wallace, Director of Public Health for North Yorkshire, has said pupils in Selby should keep their masks on in the classroom due to higher than average Covid infection rates in the area.

"The Covid rate in Selby is currently higher than the England 7-day rate per 100,000 population as a result of a local outbreak," she said.

"For this reason, our advice for secondary schools in Selby is to continue the use of face coverings for staff and students in classrooms and/or communal areas until May half term."

The Irish health minister says the drop is due to the "strong response" of local communities.

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BBC News NI understands that there are now at least 12 cases confirmed in Northern Ireland.

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Gavin Bevis
BBC News

People in Long Eaton have been urged to take a Covid test if they display lesser known symptoms of the virus.

It follows an outbreak at the town's Wilsthorpe School, which contributed to the borough of Erewash having the highest coronavirus infection rate in England.

Derbyshire County Council said many of those with a connection to the school had tested positive after experiencing different symptoms to the well-known signs like high temperature and a dry cough.

The extra symptoms have included stomach ache, sore throat, loss of appetite, diarrhoea, sickness, headaches, joint pain, tiredness, runny nose and sneezing.

Anyone displaying any of those symptoms has been advised to take a precautionary PCR test rather than a lateral flow test, at the West Park Leisure Centre testing site.

Wilsthorpe School was closed last week after more than 100 pupils and staff tested positive but has reopened this week.

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