Secondary school students and teachers are set to be tested for Covid-19 on a weekly basis under a trial starting in Liverpool this week.
Liverpool mayor Joe Anderson said he expected the tests, which are part of a new package of measures to test the city’s residents regularly for the virus, would be used in secondary schools to ensure that those who tested positive could self-isolate.
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“In schools we would envisage that teaching staff could be tested every week and pupils in secondary schools tested every week, providing we get the support of the parents to have their children tested,” he told BBC Radio 4‘s Today programme.
Coronavirus: Regular testing for secondary students
Starting on Friday this week, about 30 units across the city will be used to mass-test residents in Liverpool in order to tackle rising cases of coronavirus.
Mr Anderson said he hoped the measures would enable the city to come out of “Tier 3” measures to control coronavirus when the national lockdown ends on 2 December.
Those without symptoms will also be encouraged to take tests. Mr Anderson said the armed forces were working with local authorities to put a mass testing programme in place for six to eight weeks.
