Here is where you can get rapid Covid testing in the Coalville area

There will be two pick-up sites in the Coalville area for at home Covid-19 test kits - plus a pre-booked service at Swannington Village Hall.

Everyone in England, including those without symptoms, will be able to take a free rapid coronavirus (COVID-19) test twice a week from tomorrow (Friday)

Alongside vaccine rollout, regular testing is at the heart of plans to reopen society and the economy, helping to suppress and control the spread of variants.

The sites in Coalville are:

Bestway National Chemists Limited - Beacon House, Beacon House, Long Lane, LE67 4DR. Normal opening times 8:00am -6:30pm

Ibchem Ltd - 123 High Street, Ibstock, LE67 6JQ, Normal opening times 9:00am - 6:30pm

Swannington Village Hall, Main Street, Swannington, LE67 8QL, continues to be a test site for people with no symptoms and a booking is required. Normal opening times are 7:30am -7:30pm

Updates will be made to the NHS COVID-19 app in England to coincide with the universal testing offer.

Everyone in England will be able to access free, regular, rapid coronavirus testing from 9 April.

In a significant step forward, which paves the way for businesses and society reopening, anyone will be able to access free, rapid lateral flow tests (LFDs) for themselves and their families to use twice a week, in line with clinical guidance.

The Gov.UK website says rapid testing has so far been available to those most at risk and people who need to leave home for work, including frontline NHS workers, care home staff and residents, and schoolchildren and their families.

Now rapid testing will be offered to everyone, with people encouraged to take regular tests to help prevent outbreaks and reclaim a more normal way of life.

One in three people with Covid-19 do not experience any symptoms and may be spreading the virus unwittingly.

Rapid testing detects cases quickly, meaning positive cases can isolate immediately.

Alongside the rollout of the vaccine, regular testing is going to be an essential part of the easing of restrictions as it will help us quickly suppress the spread of variants.

Through new testing technology, positive cases of variants of concern are being detected faster than ever before. More people getting a test will increase our ability to identify and control variants.

The NHS COVID-19 app has been breaking chains of transmission to protect users and their communities since its launch in September, with over 22 million people downloading the app to date.

Updates will be made to the NHS COVID-19 app in England to coincide with the offer of rapid testing for everyone.

Getting a rapid test is quick and convenient. Over 100,000 businesses in England have registered their interest to provide rapid tests to their employees, and the offer of free testing is being expanded to companies with over 10 workers where on-site testing is impossible. The expanded regular testing offer for people without symptoms will be delivered through:

a home ordering service, which allows people to order lateral flow tests online to be delivered to their home

workplace testing programmes, on-site or at home

community testing, offered by all local authorities

collection at a local PCR test site during specific test collection time windows

testing on-site at schools and colleges

A new 'Pharmacy Collect' service is also launching which will provide an additional route to regular testing.

People aged over 18 without symptoms will be able to visit a participating local pharmacy and collect a box of 7 rapid tests to use twice a week at home.

If testing at home, individuals will need to register their results online or by calling 119. They should self-isolate if positive and order a confirmatory PCR test.

Anyone with symptoms of COVID-19 should book a test online or by calling 119.

Dr Susan Hopkins, COVID-19 Strategic Response Director at PHE and Chief Medical Adviser to NHS Test and Trace, said: "Rapid testing helps us find COVID-19 cases that we wouldn't otherwise know about, helping to break chains of transmission.

"These tests are effective in detecting people that are infectious and therefore most likely to transmit infection to others. They are another tool we now have to help maintain lower infection rates.

"I encourage everyone to take up the offer of these free rapid tests – they are quick and easy to carry out in your own home."