Soldiers descend on Pontins ahead of Liverpool’s Operation Moonshot launch
Hundreds of soldiers have been deployed to a Merseyside holiday park, as Liverpool gets set for a ‘moonshot’ coronavirus testing scheme.
Around 2,200 armed forces personnel are helping deliver hundreds of thousands of tests, with coachloads of soldiers seen arriving at the Pontins Southport Holiday Park on Thursday. Military and police vehicles were seen entering the park, usually a holiday destination for families visiting the seaside resort, through an entrance manned by Army personnel.
Six new test centres, set up in council-run fitness centres across Liverpool, will open their doors from 9am on Friday as the city begins a major’ pilot initiative. Everyone who lives or works in Liverpool will be encouraged to get tested for Covid-19 even if they do not have symptoms, with health and care workers, other emergency services and key workers and school or university staff and students, particularly encouraged to get tested.
Liverpool Mayor Joe Anderson encouraged the city’s residents to do their bit, saying: ‘This is an incredible opportunity to turbocharge our efforts to reduce coronavirus in the city.
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‘We are excited to be leading on this project, supported by the Department of Health and Social Care.
‘Let’s all get tested, for our families, our mates, our Liverpool and set an example to the country and the world.’
Lateral flow tests, which give results in under an hour, will be used along with existing swab tests ahead of the ‘Operation Moonshot’ launch.
However, The Guardian reported this evening that some of the tests set to be used in the city missed more than 50% of positive cases in an earlier trial.
A Liverpool Council spokeswoman said more test centres will open in the coming days and that the pilot is expected to last for an initial 10 days, with a view to it being extended.
Tests can be booked online or on the NHS app and centres will accommodate walk-ins on the first day of the scheme, the spokeswoman said.
Testing will also take place using home kits and in hospitals, care homes, schools, universities and workplaces.
Director of Public Health for Liverpool Matt Ashton said: ‘The aim of this project is to quickly identify people who have the virus and reduce transmission substantially.
‘This exciting mass testing programme simply means asking everyone to volunteer to be tested, and for those who test positive to self-isolate straight away and prevent others from getting it.
‘This is a pilot scheme and we won’t get everything right, but it is a huge chance to drive down transmission rates and get life back to normal more quickly.’
The soldiers at Pontins are working alongside NHS Test and Trace and commercial partners to support the mass testing by planning logistics and delivering the lateral flow testing part of the programme.
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