Carlisle’s walk-through coronavirus testing facility is to be moved from the Castle car park on Devonshire Walk to Cecil Street car park, next to the county council’s Cumbria House building.
The Department of Health and Social Care have taken the decision to move the Castle car park testing site as a precaution due to the location being prone to flooding during winter.
The Cecil Street car park testing site is expected to be built from Tuesday 24 November using temporary modular units and the new facility will be open 8am to 8pm every day from Saturday 28 November 2020. The larger site at Carlisle Airport will also remain open and there will be no interruption to the city’s testing capacity.
Anyone with coronavirus symptoms, however mild, can get a free swab test that takes less than a minute. Tests should be booked or ordered as soon as symptoms begin at nhs.uk/coronavirus or by calling 119 and people being tested can expect their result the next day. Home test kits can also be ordered by people who cannot get to a test site.
Those being tested will be required to follow public health measures, 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).
Anyone attending an appointment at the walk-through testing site will be provided with guidance on getting to and from the test site safely.
Testing is available for everyone, with additional support for vulnerable groups and people with disabilities.
Anyone testing positive for the virus in England will be contacted by NHS Test and Trace to help them track their contacts. This will help people to identify who they may have been in close contact with, protecting others from further transmission.
Close contacts of those testing positive will also hear from NHS Test and Trace, advising them to stay at home for 14 days to prevent them from unknowingly spreading the virus. They will be advised to also book at test if they develop symptoms.
Testing for COVID-19 is available to anybody in Cumbria at a range of locations. Details are available online at https://northcumbriaccg.nhs.uk/covidtesting, including dates of the Mobile Testing Units which continue to operate across the county.
