Queue forms as Corby's Covid-19 testing station sets up for a second day

Business has been brisk at a Corby Covid-19 testing station set up to help nip a county-wide rise in cases in the bud.

Cars queued to the entrance to Victoria Place this morning (Thursday, July 30) and pedestrians with suspected Covid-19 turned up as the site opened at about 10.20am for its second day in the town.

The county's public health team has installed the testing site in response to a rise in cases in the county. Although Northampton has been hit the hardest, on Monday health chiefs said they were monitoring the rate of infections in Kettering and Corby after a a rise in infections, with Kettering's rate said to be 'significantly higher' than the national average.

In the past eight days, according to Public Health England statistics, there have been eight new confirmed cases in Corby bringing the total during the pandemic to 330. There have been three new cases in East Northamptonshire, bringing their total to 395. In Kettering there has been a rise this week to 604 cases, up from 589 a week ago. And in Wellingborough, cases have risen from 337 to 441 today.

This morning, cars began queuing at 10am in Corby. Our reporter spoke to a student nurse, a hospital cleaner and an operative in one of Corby's biggest warehouses who had all reported high temperatures.

One visitor to the site behind the cinema said: "I don't feel all that ill but my temperature has gone up to 39.4 degrees and I couldn't taste my breakfast yesterday so I thought I'd better get tested. I'm not too worried and I'm glad that they've put this here because I think people are much more likely to come out and get tested if they know there's somewhere local to come."

Northamptonshire health bosses have urged caution. A statement from the Local Resilience Forum said: "Anyone experiencing any of the following coronavirus symptoms, however

mild, should isolate at home with the rest of their household and book a test:

• New, continuous cough

• High temperature

• Loss or change in sense of smell or taste

"Tests can be booked online here or by calling 119. People who test positive for COVID-19 will be helped by the NHS test and trace service to identify the people they’ve recently been in contact with so they can be alerted.

"Anyone who has had close recent contact with someone with coronavirus must then self-isolate for 14 days, if they are advised to do so by the NHS test and trace service, to help contain the spread of infection."

Last week, neighbouring Northampton was named as an 'area of concern' over rising infection rates and people were warned against sharing cars or using public transport to avoid a local lockdown.