Covid: Middlesbrough surge testing response 'encouraging'

Covid: Middlesbrough surge testing response 'encouraging'

Testing was offered to Middlesbrough residents after a variant of Covid-19 was found in the town.

Mark Adam said testing was helping experts understand the virus and identify asymptomatic cases.The latest government figures show that on 15 February, Middlesbrough's infection rate was 295.8 cases per 100,000 people, the second highest rate in England.

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That rate was down from the 358.9 cases per 100,000 recorded seven days earlier.The rate peaked at 676 on 5 January.image captionPeople were praised for turning up in the "bitter cold"Mr Adam, the South Tees joint director of public health, said there had been "a really encouraging response and I urge people from the specified areas to come forward".

"The benefits of this extra testing are two-fold," he said."The programme can help us understand more about variants [and] also helps us find asymptomatic cases who had no idea they were potentially spreading the virus."Middlesbrough Mayor Andy Preston said people had attended "in their droves" despite it being "bitterly cold last weekend", adding: "Thanks to all of them." headtopics.com

The site will operate until 23 February and people are still being asked to attend. Read more: BBC Health News »