Everyone living in two Scots postcode areas have been urged to come forward for a Covid-19 test after a spike in positive cases.
The sharp increase in infections in both Langholm and Canonbie in Dumfries and Galloway has prompted a call for all residents to get tested - regardless of whether or not they are experiencing symptoms.
A mobile testing unit has been set up at Kilngreen Car Park in Langholm.
“We’re still continuing to identify a large number of new COVID-19 cases across the region through our ongoing testing arrangements," said Dumfries and Galloway Health and Social Care Partnership chief officer Julie White.
READ MORE: The areas in Scotland where Covid-19 hospital patients are at an all-time high
"However, we’re currently seeing a particular concentration of cases in the Langholm and Canonbie areas.
“Although we have routine testing in the area, arrangements have been made to secure additional testing to run in the DG13 and DG14 postcode areas from Saturday January 23 until Tuesday January 26.
“Please note that in this instance we are encouraging all residents in these postcode areas to come forward to be tested over these four days – in the hope that we can we can identify live cases and help halt the spread.
“Testing of a population in general has not been undertaken before within Dumfries and Galloway, and this process and its outcomes will be closely monitored.
“It should be noted that mass population testing in this way is only possible in this instance because of the very focused nature of these cases, within a focused area with a relatively small population – and the extra testing capacity has been secured on a limited basis for this very specific purpose.”
READ MORE: Exiting lockdown requires more than just speeding up our vaccine rollout
The new unit operates from 11 am to 4 pm between January 23 and January 26.
Tests at the Mobile Testing Unit will be by prior appointment only, and these can be made from 9.30 am the day of the test by visiting https://www.nhs.uk/ask-for-a-coronavirus-test
If you are not currently experiencing symptoms when arranging an appointment, please mark that you have been directed to receive a test.
If you do not have access to the internet please phone 0800 028 2816
Why are you making commenting on The Herald only available to subscribers?
It should have been a safe space for informed debate, somewhere for readers to discuss issues around the biggest stories of the day, but all too often the below the line comments on most websites have become bogged down by off-topic discussions and abuse.
heraldscotland.com is tackling this problem by allowing only subscribers to comment.
We are doing this to improve the experience for our loyal readers and we believe it will reduce the ability of trolls and troublemakers, who occasionally find their way onto our site, to abuse our journalists and readers. We also hope it will help the comments section fulfil its promise as a part of Scotland's conversation with itself.
We are lucky at The Herald. We are read by an informed, educated readership who can add their knowledge and insights to our stories.
That is invaluable.
We are making the subscriber-only change to support our valued readers, who tell us they don't want the site cluttered up with irrelevant comments, untruths and abuse.
In the past, the journalist’s job was to collect and distribute information to the audience. Technology means that readers can shape a discussion. We look forward to hearing from you on heraldscotland.com
Comments & Moderation
Readers’ comments: You are personally liable for the content of any comments you upload to this website, so please act responsibly. We do not pre-moderate or monitor readers’ comments appearing on our websites, but we do post-moderate in response to complaints we receive or otherwise when a potential problem comes to our attention. You can make a complaint by using the ‘report this post’ link . We may then apply our discretion under the user terms to amend or delete comments.
Post moderation is undertaken full-time 9am-6pm on weekdays, and on a part-time basis outwith those hours.
Read the rules hereLast Updated:
Report this comment Cancel