Supporting households to take Covid tests at home

Brighton & Hove’s director of public health says parents and carers have an important role in helping keep Covid-19 at bay and our schools and nurseries open.

To ensure that Covid cases in the city stay low, parents and carers in households with children of all ages are being encouraged to use rapid Lateral Flow Device (LFD) kits to test themselves twice-weekly at home.

LFD tests are for people who are symptom free. They can identify people who have Covid-19 but have no symptoms who could be passing it on to others without knowing.

All secondary and college-age children have also been asked to take the twice weekly tests which are supplied free from their school.

Watch this NHS video to help you with home testing.

Pre-school, nursery and primary school children should not use the LFD tests.

The LFD testing kits for parents and carers and childcare and support bubbles can be collected from three sites locally:

• East Brighton Tennis Courts, Brighton BN25UA 
• Preston Park Brighton BN16SD 
• Disused School Site - junction of Mile Oak Road and High Street - Portslade BN41 2PG 

You don’t need to book an appointment to collect home LFD test kits. They are available from the sites between 2.30pm to 8pm, Mon-Sun.

For more details:  https://find-covid-19-rapid-test-sites.maps.test-and-trace.nhs.uk/ 

Home test kits should only be used when there are no symptoms of Covid-19.

If you or anyone in your household, no matter what age, has any Covid-19 symptoms please do not take an LFD test.  People with symptoms need to take a PCR test instead. Everyone in the household will also need to self-isolate.

You can arrange a PCR test here:  www.gov.uk/get-a-coronavirus-test.

Alistair Hill, director of public health, said:

“It’s really important that parents and carers use the twice weekly LFD tests themselves as well as continuing to support their secondary and college-age pupils to use them.

“The devices are quick and convenient to use and can help save lives.

“Regular testing of symptom free people helps stop the virus spreading, keeping us all safer.

“The LFD tests don’t identify everybody who is infected with COVID-19, so it is still very important that people continue to follow the guidelines and think hands-face-space, to protect themselves and others.

“Regularly testing at home is a crucial part of our journey out of lockdown.”

“If you or anyone in your household, no matter what age, has any COVID-19 symptoms they should book a PCR test online.

Notes about the LFD and PCR tests

The PCR test is for people with symptom of Covid-19.  The results take a day or two to come back.

The LFD test is for people without symptoms of Covid-19. You can do the test at home and get the result immediately. If the result is positive you will need to get a PCR test to confirm the result.