A further 109 coronavirus cases in York were confirmed over the weekend, following reports of a technical issue creating artificially high figures nationally. This led to delays within the transfer of positive cases to Public Health England between 25th September and 2nd October.
The Government has said that the data issue has been resolved. However, York residents still face uncertainty with test bookings. Increased demand and limited capacity has been the dominant issue within York and outer areas.
Councillor and Chair of the York Outbreak Management advisory board, Keith Aspden, said: “We are aware of the difficulties some people are having in accessing a test and the addition of a walk-in testing centre is crucial in increasing testing capacity in the city and ultimately, stopping the spread of the virus.”
To meet increased demand for testing as of schools and universities return and people arriving home from holidays, York has created another testing centre.
Keith Aspden said: “The site will run in addition to the drive through facility at Poppleton Bar and will provide everyone in the city with easy access to testing without the need of a car. It has been positioned in a place where many of our communities can access by walking or cycling.”
The new testing site opened on Thursday 1st October in the Wentworth Way Car Park at the University of York. This arrives as part of the Government’s drive to continue making testing more accessible. This centre will be available for all, not just University of York students.
The site is run by private company Serco and has been created to make testing accessible for those without a car. The site will be open from 8am to 8pm everyday and testing is to be booked in advance. People are reminded to follow socially distanced measures by not travelling to and from in public transport or taxis.
This site will work in addition to the initial site located at Poppleton Bar Park and Ride, which is operating as drive in appointments only.
City of York council are posting daily York updates on their twitter account which can be found here.
Tests can be booked online or by dialing 119.
