Lateral flow testing will make sure care homes have a COVID secure Christmas

Bradford Council welcomes the introduction of lateral flow testing equipment and training for care homes across the district to further reduce the risks from COVID-19.

These are new tests and not to be confused with PCR testing kits that have been used for the past few months, to great success.

Lateral flow tests are another tool recommended by Government to make sure people do not transmit the virus. Although the introduction of lateral flow testing is a step forward, public health advice is that the tests are not 100% accurate and can provide a ‘false negative’. We have therefore worked with local care homes to make it clear that families will still have to keep their distance from loved ones when visiting in the run up to Christmas, despite the introduction of the tests. However, if tests do give a Covid positive result, we can ask those relatives to take the necessary steps to keep everyone safe.

We are supporting care homes to continue to offer COVID secure indoor and outdoor visiting within the guidelines already in place. This includes visiting pods, garden visiting, meetings through windows or Perspex barriers and drive through visits. And of course, in exceptional circumstances including at the end of life, people can visit and touch and support their loved ones.

Iain Macbeath, Strategic Director of Health and Wellbeing for Bradford Council, said:  “Our first priority is to ensure the health and safety of those in our care homes, their families and the staff who work there. We understand how important being close to family is at Christmas. But people have told us they also want to remain safe from the risk of infection over this festive time.

“We want to support our care homes to deliver a safe and secure Christmas now so that, by the time the coronavirus vaccine is rolled out across care homes, families can have a second Christmas celebration and be able to be close to their loved ones properly once again.

“Although our infection rates are improving, there is still a high level of community transmission in our area which is why we need to make sure we protect those people in the district who are most vulnerable.”

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