Targeted mass testing set to begin in Durham as part of covid fight

Mass testing programmes have previously been trialled in cities such as Liverpool in an attempt to stem rising infection rates by spotting positive cases without symptoms.

But instead of attempting to swab everyone in a given area, health bosses for the county will instead focus on sectors or communities considered particularly high risk.

“We’re developing and building on existing programmes with [Durham University], care homes and the lateral flow device testing,” said Amanda Healy, Durham County Council’s director of public health.

“[We’re] targeting that testing at particular communities, [such as] our blue light services, businesses and our frontline workforce who have to go out to work and can’t work from home.

“We anticipate that that programme will be rolling out in the next couple of weeks, during February.

“It’s a huge task across the scale and size of County Durham, but will be ready, seeking to find people with no symptoms but who test positive.”

Healy was speaking at a meeting of Durham County Council’s Adults, Wellbeing and Health Overview and Scrutiny Committee, which was held by videolink and broadcast via YouTube.

Liverpool’s mass testing programme, which started in November, was credited with finding hundreds of asymptomatic cases of COVID-19.

But it was also criticised for the high number of false positives produced by the ‘rapid’ lateral flow tests.

Healy added lessons had been learned since, after the Merseyside trial saw lots of ‘worried well’ come forward, without addressing the harder to reach groups crucial to halting transmission.

She said: “The local programme that we will be implementing builds on some learning from the university, because they’ve been using the lateral flow devices for their students when they returned home before Christmas.

“We’re going to be using the lateral flow to ensure we have a programme of tests, not just a one off, at community sites when they’re open and for our frontline workforce, who can’t work from home, to detect those people who don’t have symptoms but who test positive.

“The second part is ensuring [anyone who tests positive] can be supportive to self isolate.”

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