UPDATED: Four Covid-19 testing units remain in Northamptonshire amid 'hotspot' concerns

Four Covid-19 testing units will be back in Northamptonshire today as health chiefs remain concerned over becoming a potential hotspot.

The walk-in unit in Northampton's Market Square is deployed until Friday while a second facility in the town at St Andrew’s Health Centre is also available for both drive-through and walk-ins.

St Andrew's Cliftonville car park is being used for the testing station and people should use the Cliftonville entrance to access the site.

A third mobile unit has been sent to Daventry until today with a fourth site stationed in Corby, both for walk-ins and drive-through.

Anyone who believes they have coronavirus symptons — a new, continuous cough; high temperature; loss of or change in sense of smell or taste — is urged to get tested urgently to avoid risking of passing on the virus. More guidance can be found HERE.

Public Health England reported four new positive swabs in Northampton in 24 hours up to 9am on Tuesday morning — but none in the rest of the county. It is understood numbers from Monday's testing may have been be lowered as heavy rain deterred people from going out.

PHE last week identified the town as an "area of concern" over rising infection rates prompting local health officials to issue new guidance urging Northampton residents to be vigilant, work from home where they can, limit contact with others outside their own household — especially indoors — and avoid public transport and car sharing or risk a local lockdown similar to the one in Leicester.

HERE'S THE ADVICE YOU NEED TO FOLLOW IN AND AROUND NORTHAMPTONNorthamptonshire's Director of Public Health Lucy Wightman said: “We are concerned that coronavirus cases remain higher than we would like them to be, so we have arranged for additional testing capacity over the coming days.

“Anyone with even the mildest coronavirus symptoms must first of all isolate at home straight away with everyone else in their household. This is absolutely essential to help stop the further spread of the virus locally and protect vulnerable people, and though you may otherwise feel well you must not go to work or even visit a shop because this will put others at risk.

“Secondly, you should book a test via the NHS website or by calling 119. If you test positive you should continue to stay at home in line with government guidance – and this will enable the NHS test and trace service to identify and alert other people you may have come into contact with.”

Despite yesterday's testing results and the number of daily positive swabs declining recently, Northampton's overall infection rate is 554 per 100,000 of the population since the pandemic started in March, up from 533 a week ago.

Health chiefs here say it is the rate at which new cases are occurring which is concerning them.

Covid-19 is known to have claimed the lives of 526 people in Northamptonshire's two main NHS hospitals — the latest victim at Kettering General Hospital was revealed yesterday — while another 134 deaths in county care homes had been linked to the bug up to July 24.

This article has been updated to include information for Thursday July 30