Covid-19 surge testing kits available from libraries

The libraries are not open, but are acting as a collection point for the 'At home' tests

At home coronavirus testing kits are being made available from public libraries to help with surge testing.

Five libraries in Bristol and three in South Gloucestershire are now offering Collect and Drop facilities to people eligible for additional testing.

People can collect a kit for themselves, their family or someone they know who is unable to leave home.

Surge testing was announced for 24 postcodes in the area with three mobile testing sites also set up.

The collect and drop services in Bristol will be open from 10:00 until 16:00 GMT, Monday to Saturday, and from 09:00 to 17:00 daily in South Gloucestershire.

The PCR tests involve a swab of the nose and throat and can be done at home before they are placed in a sealed box at the library where the kit was first collected.

The libraries, which are not open but acting as a collection point, are:

• Fishponds Library, Robinson House, Hockey's Ln, Fishponds, Bristol BS16 3HL

• Henleaze Library, 30 Northumbria Dr, Henleaze, Bristol BS9 4HP

• Junction 3 Library, 138b Lower Ashley Rd, Easton, Bristol BS5 0FJ

• Whitchurch Library, 7 Oatlands Ave, Bristol BS14 0SX

• Wick Road Library, Wick Rd, Brislington, Bristol BS4 4HE

The sites for collection and drop-off in South Gloucestershire are:

• Emersons Green Library, Emersons Way, Emersons Green BS16 7AP

• Downend Library, Buckingham Gardens, Downend, BS16 5TW

• Staple Hill Library, Broad St, Staple Hill, BS16 5LS

A mobile test site has been set up at the Bristol and Bath Science Park in Emersons Green

Surge testing aims to help scientists and public health officials learn more about a mutated Covid-19 Kent variant found in Bristol and South Gloucestershire.

It will also help reduce the spread of infection by finding asymptomatic cases and prompting people to self-isolate.

Christina Gray, director for public health in Bristol, said: "On the first day of our mobile testing sites being open on Sunday over 2,000 tests were carried out.

"We are so grateful to everyone for playing their part in helping to prevent the spread of the virus and protect our communities."