Businesses and organisations in Dorset who employ less than 50 people, and are open under current government guidelines, are being invited to register for weekly asymptomatic testing for COVID-19 if they haven’t already done so.

Employees must sign up to six weeks of testing and be tested at one of the sites around the county.

Public Health Dorset, on behalf of BCP and Dorset councils, has set up a rapid service, using lateral flow device (LFD) tests, for employees who cannot work from home due to the nature of their role.

Frontline council workers, businesses, charities and voluntary organisations (employing less than 250 people) who either provide an essential service or support the vulnerable have already been invited to register their interest and have started getting tested.

So far 349 priority businesses and organisations have started to use the service and are having weekly LFD tests to keep their companies going while also helping prevent the spread of COVID-19 to their colleagues and communities.

One in three people who have COVID-19 show no symptoms and can therefore spread it without knowing.

Businesses and organisations must register their interest at www.publichealthdorset.org.uk/your-health/protecting-your-health/dorset-rapid-community-testing.aspx

Any business or organisation with over 50 employees can access testing by registering interest at www.gov.uk/get-workplace-coronavirus-tests.

Cllr Laura Miller, Dorset Council’s portfolio holder for Adult Social Care and Health said, “Everyone must stay at home as much as possible and work from home if they can. Due to the nature of their work some people are unable to do this so if you can’t work from home and fit the community testing criteria please register for community testing.

“The quicker we can identify COVID-19 cases, the quicker those people can self-isolate and help break the transmission of the virus.”

Anyone who has COVID-19 symptoms must keep using the national portal at www.gov.uk/get-coronavirus-test.