Covid-19: A third of Bristol's surge tests have not been returned

People who live in 24 Bristol and South Gloucestershire postcodes are "strongly encouraged" to get tested

A third of tests taken in a surge testing programme to detect a variant of Covid-19 have not been returned.

Residents living in 24 Bristol and South Gloucestershire postcodes are "strongly encouraged" to get a test.

Bristol City and South Gloucestershire Councils said 20,000 tests had been completed since testing started on Sunday and Thursday.

But they "urged" people to return another 10,000 outstanding tests.

They would help to ensure the programme gets enough data to learn more about the Kent mutation of the virus, the councils said.

Public Health England (PHE) has said 11 cases found in Bristol were the new Kent variant with the E484K mutation, which has already been seen in the South African and Brazilian variants.

Christina Gray said while uptake has been "very positive", the programme "urgently" needs outstanding tests returned

The authorities said about 10,800 of the tests in the community surge testing programme have been carried out at mobile testing units. Another 9,200 have been returned to Collect and Drop sites.

But 10,000 home tests have not been returned, meaning half of people who collected one of those have yet to return them to a site.

The tests are for people without symptoms of coronavirus. Anyone with symptoms should still use the government testing service.

Christina Gray, Bristol City Council's director of public health, said uptake has been "very positive" but that those tests should be returned "urgently".

"This is the only way we can ensure we're getting as much data as possible to learn about the virus and look to reduce local infection rates", she said.

"We are looking to provide tests in areas where uptake is low, or access is more difficult, which we hope to roll out next week.

"Having your tests back will help us understand where we need to focus."

A list of where tests can be returned is available on the Bristol City Council website.