Covid: Bedford residents in Indian variant hotspot 'receptive' to testing

Bedford Mayor Dave Hodgson said people were receptive to the idea of taking Covid tests

People in a town hit by a coronavirus variant first identified in India are "really receptive" to protecting their community, its mayor said.

Dave Hodgson was speaking as door-to-door testing started in Bedford.

The town has the eleventh-highest Covid-19 rate in England, with 137 cases per 100,000 people in the week to 31 May.

Over the weekend, teams of volunteers will be handing out 11,000 testing kits.

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.

Volunteers hope to deliver 11,000 tests in the town

Volunteers will visit households in Cauldwell, Kingsbrook and Queens Park, three areas hit hardest by the variant, on Saturday and Sunday.

Mr Hodgson said: "We just need to get to grips with where the virus is.

"People are really receptive. They want to protect their families, their friends and their communities."

Local councillor Abu Sultan helped deliver Covid-19 testing kits to Bedford residents

Local councillor Abu Sultan added: "This affects all of us. It's important we understand why we have had such a surge and try to control it."

One resident, who did not want to be named, called the scheme "fantastic," adding: "It is a really, really good idea."

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

Up to 24 May, Covid-19 case rates in the town rose by 38% week-on-week, but numbers have been consistently falling since then.

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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.

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.

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 are no longer open.

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