Sutton’s Director of Public Health urges all residents to take regular rapid tests

Following the Government’s announcement that free rapid tests will be offered to everyone in England from 9 April, Dr Imran Choudhury, Director of Public Health at Sutton Council is urging the people of Sutton to make use of the rapid COVID-19 tests available to them. 

Rapid tests are for people without symptoms and give a result in 30-40 minutes. They are designed to quickly identify asymptomatic cases of coronavirus (people with no symptoms) to stop the spread before it goes any further. 

Dr Imran Choudhury, director of public health at Sutton Council said: 

“This week we all took another step out of lockdown. Shops, restaurants with outdoor space, pub gardens and gyms were all able to open. It is fantastic to see Sutton’s town centre begin to spring into activity again. 

As society opens and lockdown restrictions are eased it is really important that we all do our part to keep COVID infections low and keep our families and community safe. 

Rapid testing is a key part of keeping ourselves and our loved ones safe and ensuring we can take each of the next planned steps out of lockdown. Please play your part by taking two tests per week, including after you receive your vaccination.” 

About 1 in 3 people with coronavirus do not have symptoms but can still infect others, so, getting tested regularly is the only way to know if you have the virus. And If people test positive and self-isolate, it helps stop the virus spreading.

Local residents are being urged to take tests as regularly as twice a week. 

Testing can be accessed in community pharmacies, community testing centres, via secondary schools and some employers or picked up to take at home from COVID-19 testing centres. 

More information on how to pick up a home-testing kit or book a test can be found on the Sutton Council website - www.sutton.gov.uk/covid19.