A CREWE school has been selected to be part of a pilot scheme of rapid testing for Covid-19 taking place across Cheshire East this week.

The tests use a new methodology known as Lateral Flow Testing which have been designed to deliver targeted and focused, rapid testing for people without typical symptoms of coronavirus.

Health officials have chosen Springfield School on Crewe Green Road to be part of the scheme to see if access to rapid results will shorten the time extremely vulnerable children are out of their routine, and so minimise the impact to their education.

The test just takes 30 minutes to produce a result, which is sent via email and SMS confirmation within 45 to 60 minutes.

Cheshire East Council volunteered to take part in the pilot programme and received 10,000 test kits to trial across the borough.

Vulnerable groups and willing volunteers have been selected to take part and Springfield is one of the six different pilot groups.

Cheshire Fire and Rescue Service is one of the other groups. There 300 employees are being tested to assess the logistics and frequency of testing needed to protect front line staff.

At Congleton High School a "Swab Squad" of trained testers are carrying out testing with a selected bubble within a year 12 group. This pilot will be useful for the school through a reduction in the number of pupils having to self-isolate when a fellow pupil in their bubble tests positive;

There will also be testing of administration staff at East Cheshire Hospice who are not covered by the national programme; at Supported Living sites regular screening of staff and service users will take place before Christmas; and at Cheshire East Council there will be an internal testing programme with the Early Help and Prevention team.

Dr Matt Tyrer, Director of Public Health for Cheshire East Council said: "These pilots are invaluable to our learning about Covid-19, the testing process and how we roll out bigger scale tests to best serve our residents in Cheshire East.

"The testing kits are good for helping to find people who aren't showing Covid-19 symptoms provided that they are administered properly.

"That is why we are currently carrying out focussed training and pilot testing of the kits in different settings. This will enable us to deliver an effective screening programme to identify people who are asymptomatic.

"The test is quick to take and provides rapid results in just 30 minutes. This means that when a negative result is received that person can go about their normal day and not have to isolate while waiting for results.

"During busy testing periods it can take up to 72 hours to receive the results of traditional tests who have to be sent to labs.

"A positive lateral flow test does however require a second test in order to confirm the positive result. This must be a traditional one offered at testing sites. Although this is an inconvenience it doesn't affect the 10-day isolation start date, which will commence after the lateral flow positive result itself."

Cheshire East Council expects to receive enough kits in the new year to be able to test 10 percent of the borough's population every week.

But the authority stresses the roll out of these rapid tests will not replace the need for social distancing measures, good hand hygiene and the wearing of face masks.