Two new local Covid-19 mobile testing units are opening this week.

The facility at the Dolphin Swimming Pool car park in Poole opens today 7 December and the other in the Two Riversmeet car park in Christchurch opens tomorrow, Tuesday.

Both units are accessible by car and foot and will operate on scheduled days – typically two days a week – on a rotational basis with other mobile sites in the area. These include Wallisdown and Boscombe (Hawkwood Road) as well as sites across Dorset in Wareham, Bridport, Weymouth and Dorchester.

Local people are also served by the regional Covid-19 testing site at Creekmoor, which is accessed by car only, and a local testing site at Lansdowne, which is walk-in only.

Tests at all sites can only be booked in advance via the national portal at www.gov.uk/get-coronavirus-test or by calling 119 for those without internet access.

Cllr Nicola Greene, BCP Council portfolio holder for Covid Resilience and Public Health said, “I am very pleased that local residents now have access to an increased number of Covid-19 testing sites. The opening of the two new mobile units in Christchurch and Poole will particularly benefit residents living in and around those areas who may have previously found it hard to access existing sites. With a regional testing centre in Creekmoor and additional units across Dorset, local residents are now well served if they develop symptoms of Covid-19 and require a test.”

Anyone who develops any symptoms of Covid-19 – a new, continuous cough, a high temperature or a loss or change of taste or smell – should book a test online and self-isolate with everyone in their household or support bubble whilst they wait for the result.

To find out more about Covid-19 testing, visit www.gov.uk/getting-tested-for-coronavirus