Sheffield Council workers could get rapid Covid tests to keep essential services running

Bin men and gritter workers in Sheffield could get rapid Covid tests under a pilot scheme to keep services running over winter.
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Director of Public Health Greg Fell says “critical mobile staff” could be tested with Lateral Flow Devices (LFDs), which give a result in 30 to 60 minutes without needing to be processed in a lab.

Council drivers and workmen doing repairs, plus those doing similar jobs in Veolia and Amey, would be tested.

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Mr Fell said: “These staff are often in close proximity to each other in the cab of a lorry or other vehicle so can spread Covid more easily, but are critical winter resilience staff.

Greg Fell, director of Public Health at Sheffield City Council.Greg Fell, director of Public Health at Sheffield City Council.
Greg Fell, director of Public Health at Sheffield City Council.

“By doing asymptomatic testing of these staff regularly, twice a week, we may be able to prevent infection from spreading which will be beneficial for the health of staff as well as helping business continuity.

“We are anticipating being able to start a pilot scheme in January 2021 and will evaluate its effectiveness.”

Mr Fell said information from the Government was changing frequently though which meant the council continually had to reassess its priorities.

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It’s not clear whether a central testing hub would need to be set up for people to attend for weekly testing, or whether kits could be distributed for staff to use at home.

While there would be specific sites set up for processing swabs using LFD in one or more locations, there’s a question mark over how to transport people to them.

Current government grants would fund any asymptomatic testing for select groups. Mr Fell said there were “favourable benefits” from doing frequent repeated testing in targeted groups but not in the mass population.

“We discounted doing community testing as the current evidence, particularly from Liverpool, does not support one-off use with large numbers of asymptomatic people.

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“It does not seem to have any meaningful impact on overall infection rates at a city level. Doing asymptomatic testing can cause harm through false negatives where people who have the disease but test negative are falsely reassured they don’t have Covid.”

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In these confusing and worrying times, local journalism is more vital than ever. Thanks to everyone who helps us ask the questions that matter by taking out a digital subscription or buying a paper. We stand together. Nancy Fielder, editor.