Council's mobile coronavirus testing service to come to Penistone

The new unit, which will be at the Penistone Town Hall car park site on Shrewsbury Road, will be open tomorrow (July 18) from 11am to 3pm.

Public Health England (PHE) and national leaders have given permission to use enhanced testing across South Yorkshire to speed up the decline in new cases.

Barnsley was identified as a 'hotspot' of virus cases, and was in the top 10 worst affected areas for coronavirus at the start of the month.

However, the council's director of public health Julia Burrows, says there is now a "continued decrease in positive cases of coronavirus."

The latest weekly figures from Public Health England show that Barnsley’s weekly rate of cases of Coronavirus (COVID-19) per 100,000 came down to around 17 per 100,000.

This means that further to a figure of around 48 cases per 100,000 on 25 June and last week’s reported figure of around 35 per 100,000, Barnsley is moving closer to the numbers seen in other regions.

A Barnsley Council spokesperson said: "South Yorkshire has higher rates of new Coronavirus cases than the England average and so we must double our efforts as a region to protect ourselves and each other.

"The council acknowledges that more testing will inevitably mean more positive cases; but it gives us a better chance of getting on top of the spread of the virus.

"More testing will help to identify new cases earlier to trace contacts to prevent transmission."

Residents can register for a test through their smartphone, and staff at the testing centre will give instructions while they wait for a test.

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