Covid-19: Bedford to begin door-to-door testing in Indian variant areas

Bedford has been identified by the government as a hotspot for the so-called Indian variant

Door-to-door testing in an area hit by a coronavirus variant first identified in India will begin this weekend, a council has said.

Bedford has the fifth-highest Covid-19 rate in England, with 158 cases per 100,000 people in the week to 29 May.

Mobile testing units have been in three areas for two weeks in an attempt to control the spread.

Confirming that testing would continue, the borough council said the situation was "continuously being reviewed".

Bedford is one of eight areas identified by the government as a hotspot for the so-called Indian variant, now named the Delta variant by the World Health Organisation.

Up to 24 May, it saw Covid-19 case rates rise by 38% week-on-week, although the 273 cases it recorded up to 29 May showed a reduction of 22% on the previous seven days.

Surge testing - where everyone living, working or studying in a specific area who does not already have symptoms is asked to take a Covid-19 polymerase chain reaction (PCR) test - was originally carried out in four areas.

Last week the local authority announced testing in three of those would continue until 4 June.

More than 3,000 residents have visited the mobile testing units with a further 6,000 testing kits issued at collection and drop-off points, the council said.

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The authority confirmed that this weekend, volunteers would be going door-to-door in Cauldwell, Kingsbrook and Queens Park to hand out free PCR test kits to residents, returning the same day to collect them.

Mobile units will remain at the Oasis Beach Pool, John Bunyan Sports and Fitness and Enterprise House in Old Ford End Road but the collect and drop-off sites at Tesco car park, Cardington Road; Morrisons car park, Ampthill Road; and Queens Park Community Centre will no longer be open after 4 June.

Louise Jackson, portfolio holder for health and wellbeing, said the council was "asking everyone to do everything they can to help stop the spread of the virus".

"With a third of cases not showing any symptoms you could unknowingly pass the virus on to others," she said.

"Offering free PCR tests door-to-door in areas with the highest infection rates will give more people the opportunity to take a test and help monitor and prevent the spread.

"We encourage everyone in these areas to take a test and self-isolate if they are positive."

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