Coronavirus testing centre for workers set up at Alton Sports Centre

Residents around Alton who must leave home to work can take a coronavirus test at a new centre in the town. 

Alton Sports Centre opened as a testing site on Wednesday 24 February, giving workers the chance to take regular tests for the virus. 

The centre, the only such facility in East Hampshire, is one of 11 to be introduced across the county and will run for the next six weeks.  

Arranged by appointment, the tests are aimed at residents who travel regularly outside their home for work, who work for businesses with fewer than 50 employees and who are not covered by an existing workplace testing scheme. 

Around one in three people with coronavirus display no symptoms. The tests will help prevent transmission by asymptomatic carriers. 

Results are not given on-site, instead they are fed into the NHS Test and Trace system and then passed on to the individual later in the day. 

The centre in Alton is being delivered by East Hampshire District Council in partnership with Hampshire County Council and the Department of Health and Social Care. 

Opening hours run from 9am – 12.30pm and 1.30pm-4.15pm from Monday to Saturday. Free parking is available on site. 

How rapid asymptomatic testing works  

Tests can be booked online 24 hours in advance through EHDC’s website or on Hampshire County Council’s website and appointments should take no more than 30 minutes. 

Anyone who cannot book online should contact East Hampshire District Council, who will be able to book a test on your behalf.  

You will be asked not to eat anything for 30 minutes prior to your test.  

You will take a lateral flow test, which involves a self-administered swab of the nose and throat, under the guidance of trained staff.  

Results will be confirmed after leaving the testing site by text message sent direct to your mobile (or to a nominated mobile phone belonging to a family member or friend, if you do not have your own).  

You will be invited to return for testing every three to five days throughout the six-week programme.  

Anyone receiving a positive test result will need to follow self-isolation guidance but will not need to book a follow-up test.    For more information go to www.easthants.gov.uk/get-test-workers-without-symptoms or phone 01730 234110.