Formby and Freshfields rail stations will be the locations for Sefton Council’s Public Health Teams pop-up sites for coronavirus testing this week.

Open from today, Tuesday 18th May to Friday 21st May, between 9am and 4pm, the two sites will be offering PCR tests to people without COVID-19 symptoms as part of efforts to find cases of the virus variant first identified in India.

Health leaders are urging everyone living, working and studying in the Formby area and those who have visited facilities in the area during the past two weeks to get tested.

The teams at the pop-ups will also be handing out home testing kits and will be joined by Community COVID Engagement Officers who can provide vaccination advice.

Local, dedicated coronavirus testing for the variant first identified in India was introduced in Sefton’s Formby area after cases of the variant were identified locally.

On Friday 14th May, mobile, drive-through test centres opened at Deansgate Lane Park in Formby and at Ainsdale Hope on Sandringham Road (PR8 2PJ).

Also, a walk-through test centre opened at Sefton Professional Development Centre.

The Deansgate drive-through test centre is open from 9am to 4pm Monday to Friday, and the Professional Development Centre on Park Lane will be open between 9am and 4pm seven days a week.

The test centre at Ainsdale will be open from 9am until 4pm on Friday 14th May, but from Saturday 15th May will be open 9am to 8pm seven days a week.

Appointments are not needed for tests at any of these centres.

Announcing the testing last week, Sefton’s Director of Public Health, Margaret Jones said:

“We are encouraging everyone aged over 16 who lives, works or studies in Formby to attend one of our dedicated local test sites.

“It’s important that people go to these dedicated test sites and not to our other sites, as these are the ones specifically set up to identify the Indian variant.”

People can find out more about testing in Sefton at www.sefton.gov.uk/COVID-testing