Location revealed for second new walk-through covid testing site in Sunderland, which opens this week

The site at Commercial Road, Hendon, is due to open tomorrow, Tuesday 13 October, and be fully operational from 8am to 8pm by Thursday.

It will join the Johnson Street walk-through test site on the University of Sunderland's City Campus, which opened just days ago. A third site is currently in the process of being identified.

Known as Local Testing Sites (LTS) the centres offer easy and ready access to testing for people without access to a car or who would rather walk than drive to a test centre.

Each of the sites, which are walk-through only, will be operate from 8 am to 8 pm, seven days a week, once fully up and running.

Councillor Dr Geoffrey Walker, Cabinet Member for Healthy City, said: "These new test sites are all about making it easier for our residents to get tested for Covid 19, particularly those without access to a car and the one at Johnson Street has already been well used since it opened this week.

"We have had issues with people being able to get tests, so these new test sites are welcome addition to our testing capacity. And I would urge anyone who has Covid symptoms to book a test as soon as possible.

"We are continuing to see an alarming rise in the number of Covid cases across the city and the wider North East in recent weeks. And the only way to get back to any kind of normality is for us all to keep following the guidance on social distancing, good hand hygiene and wearing a mask in public spaces, no matter how hard it is to do so."

Appointments for the new test centres must be booked through the national Covid-19 booking system - nhs.uk/coronavirus or by calling 119.

Testing is only available for those either with coronavirus symptoms – a high temperature, a new, continuous cough, or a loss or change to sense or taste – or those who have been asked to get tested by a doctor, public health professional or by their local council.

Anyone with one or more of these symptoms should book a test without delay at nhs.uk/coronavirus or by calling 119. You can expect your result within 72 hours. People without these symptoms should not seek a test unless they have been specifically advised to do so.

Anyone attending an appointment at the walk-through sites will be advised how to get to and from the test site safely, as well as the public health measures they need to follow, including social distancing, not travelling by taxi or public transport, practising good personal hygiene and wearing a face covering throughout (including travelling to and from the testing centre).

The three sites will be in place for at least three months. They are being operated by the Department of Health and Social Care in partnership with Sodexo and will offer self-administered tests.

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