A NEW Local Covid-19 Testing Station will open its doors in Parr from tomorrow, Friday.

The testing station will be based at the former fire station on Parr Stocks Road and will be open every day until the end of January.

This will build testing capacity for St Helens and will operate alongside the regional testing centre at Haydock Park Racecourse and mobile testing units which have been moving around the borough targeting areas with increased cases.

The facility can be accessed on foot and there is also a large car park at the rear for those travelling by car to use. It is strictly by appointment only. Anyone without a booking will be turned away.

Its initial operating hours this weekend will be:

• Friday, October 30 from 2pm – 5pm

• Saturday, October 31 from 10am – 5pm

• Sunday, November 1 from 10am – 5pm

• Monday, November 2 from 8am – 8pm

Then it will operate every day, except Bank Holidays, from 8am to 8pm

People with these symptoms - continuous cough, high temperature or a loss of or change in their normal sense of smell or taste – should book a test.

You can apply for a test online at https://self-referral.test-for-coronavirus.service.gov.uk/antigen/name or by calling NHS 119 and bookings should be open from 6pm this evening for tomorrow.

You will be given a booking reference number or QR code which you must give in to the centre. Without these you will not be given a test.

Councillor Anthony Burns, Cabinet Member for Public Health, Leisure, Libraries and Heritage at St Helens Borough Council, said: “This is great news for our borough and increasing the availability of testing locally will help more residents get tested quickly as the key to tackle this virus is for us to find and isolate cases to reduce the spread as soon as possible. Having this test site until the end of January means that we can use our mobile testing units more creatively to target areas where we are seeing the largest rises in cases.”

A time slot and the location of the mobile unit will be provided upon booking. Instructions on how to take the test and how and when people they will receive their results will be provided when taking the test. People without a booking will be turned away - without exception.