May 20, 2021 3.37 pm This story is over 34 months old

Four COVID-19 testing sites to close in Lincolnshire on Friday

Low turnouts and more home testing
| Photo: Stuart Wilde for CoLC

Large COVID-19 community rapid testing sites in Lincoln, Sleaford, Boston and Spalding will close by 8pm on Friday, May 21, due to low numbers of people using the sites and the increased use of home testing kits.

The sites at Sleaford Town Football Club and Skirbeck Community Centre in Boston have recently stood down and the remaining two sites at Four Seasons House in Pinchbeck, Spalding and Sudbrooke Drive Community Centre, Lincoln will also close their doors on Friday.

Health bosses urge the public to pick up lateral flow testing kits from their local pharmacy or order online, which give you a result in 30 minutes, preventing the spread of asymptomatic COVID-19 and its variants.

Derek Ward, Director of Public Health, said: “There is no longer the need for the larger testing facilities across Lincolnshire, as the numbers using these sites are very low.”

Last week, the Local Democracy Reporting Service found that the sites are only running at 5-10% capacity.

He added: “People are tending to use home testing kits rather than the fixed testing sites and we’d encourage individuals to pick up test kits from their nearest collection point, which is likely to be a local pharmacy.

“Some of the additional testing collection points will be closer than you think, linked to supermarkets and stores.

“Two test kits can be picked up from your closest pharmacy or other collection point and each pack contains seven tests. This will give individuals enough supply to perform twice-weekly tests for seven  weeks.”

To find your nearest pharmacy please click here COVID-19 test and vaccination site finder and for a list of current testing sites, see here.