Covid-19 testing: Army to help out in Kirklees

Kirklees has put itself forward for mass community testing

Military personnel will be seen on the streets of Kirklees in the weeks to come as they help out with mass Covid-19 testing.

Kirklees Council put itself forward to make rapid testing available to everyone, even those without symptoms.

The scheme will focus on areas with persistently high infection rates, and also target high-risk workplaces.

The borough's four MPs and political leaders hope the decreasing infection rates will fall further as a result.

MPs Barry Sheerman, Jason McCartney, Tracy Brabin and Mark Eastwood joined leaders of the five main political groups to respond to a government announcement that community testing is imminent.

More stories from around Yorkshire

The MPs make up the Outbreak Control Board (OCB) along with Shabir Pandor (Labour), David Hall (Conservative), John Lawson (Lib Dems), Andrew Cooper (Greens) and Charles Greaves (Holme Valley Independents), the Local Democracy Reporting Service said.

In a joint statement they said: "This announcement means [the government] will support us to build a network and will provide military personnel to help us get the system up and running.

"Community testing will give every resident of Kirklees an extra chance to play their part in keeping their friends, family and community safe.

"After several weeks when we've seen infections falling across Kirklees, we need to build on that positive progress. Community testing for all residents of Kirklees gives us the chance to build on the enormous efforts people have been making."

Kirklees has had a 64% fall in new cases of Covid-19 over the past three weeks, and last week had an infection rate of 183.5 people per 100,000.

The council hopes community testing can help slow the spread of the infection and save lives, in an area currently in the highest alert level of tier three.

Follow BBC Yorkshire on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram. Send your story ideas to [e-mail] or send video here.