Covid test centre at Haydock Park racecourse to close

The test site at Haydock Park racecourse, which has been in operation since April 2020 is due to close, the DHSC confirmed to the Star.

They added details of this will be confirmed in due course by St Helens Council, including the exact date.

READ > Health chiefs to head into St Helens communities where Covid vaccine take-up is lower

A Department for Health and Social Care Spokesperson said: “Over the past year, we have built the largest network of diagnostic testing facilities in British history from scratch, and we have now conducted over 186 million coronavirus tests.

“Testing remains a vital part of the response to COVID-19 as we cautiously ease lockdown restrictions, which is why we have rolled out free regular, rapid testing for people without symptoms, meaning cases can be detected faster and more easily, and outbreaks can be stopped earlier.”

The Star has asked the council if an exact date has yet been confirmed for the closure but has not yet received a response.

Haydock Park

The DHSC said there are a variety of routes through which individuals can access a symptomatic test, including drive-through sites, walk-through sites, mobile testing units and home testing and added there are more than 1,100 sites operating across the UK, including 42 static test sites, supporting by a number of mobile testing units, in the North West.

The DHSC says it works with local authorities and other stakeholders to ensure test sites are in the right places to make it easy for people to get there and to meet local demand.

NHS Test and Trace also worked to support local authorities establish community testing sites offering asymptomatic LFD testing.

Additional routes to acquiring LFD tests have become available, including the universal testing offer, where anyone can order LFDs to their homes, as well as testing in schools and workplaces: gov.uk/order-coronavirus-rapid-lateral-flow-tests

A Department for Health and Social Care Spokesperson said: “Over the past year, we have built the largest network of diagnostic testing facilities in British history from scratch, and we have now conducted over 186 million coronavirus tests.

“Testing remains a vital part of the response to COVID-19 as we cautiously ease lockdown restrictions, which is why we have rolled out free regular, rapid testing for people without symptoms, meaning cases can be detected faster and more easily, and outbreaks can be stopped earlier.”