Army to carry out mass Covid-19 pilot testing scheme in North Yorkshire town

The North Yorkshire seaside town of Redcar will be a pilot area for a mass Covid-19 testing scheme, with the army being called upon to carry out tests, it has been revealed.

Councillor Mary Lanigan, the leader of Redcar and Cleveland Council, first revealed the news at a meeting on Thursday morning.

She said: “Because our numbers are starting to rise we are going to test every single person in Redcar.

“We have got the army coming in to do that.

A Covid19 testing siteA Covid19 testing site
A Covid19 testing site
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“We are awaiting the details and Redcar and Cleveland [Council] and public health will be having a say.

“All I can say is that I have been informed that the army is coming in and they are targeting the whole of Redcar.”

Redcar MP Jacob Young has since revealed more on how it will work starting from November 23.

Residents in the TS10 postcode will be invited to get a test whether they have symptoms or not – with the Army establishing testing sites across the town.

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However in a social media post, the Conservative MP confirmed nobody would be forced to take a test – and the Army “wouldn’t be knocking on people’s doors”.

Mr Young said: “This is a voluntary scheme and will better identify who has Covid in our community, help them to self isolate, and therefore reduce the spread.

“Mass testing is the quickest way we will see restrictions reduced and so I think this is a good thing for Redcar.”

Mr Young also revealed Redcar was “picked out of a hat” of similar sized towns to be chosen.

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“Ultimately, we’re going to get a better understanding of who has Covid and who doesn’t," he said.

“At the moment, someone could be walking down the street not having symptoms of Covid but passing it onto other people whereas this testing programme is going to allow us to identify those people, help them self-isolate and reduce the spread.

“If we want to get out of these restrictions as soon as possible, this is one of the key ways we’re going to be able to do that.”

The MP said multiple tests would be given to people – saying he believed they’d be “30 minute spit tests”.

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Mr Young added more details were to come on the scheme in due course and people “shouldn’t be concerned” to see the Army out and about.

NHS dashboard data shows Redcar’s latest seven day Covid rate stands at 285.8 cases per 100,000 people using information from October 20 to October 26.

Meanwhile, crunch talks are continuing behind the scenes between leaders, health officials and the Government about moving Teesside in the top tier of Covid restrictions in response to rising cases, deaths and hospitalisations.

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