New Measures in Ealing Borough To Tackle Indian Variant

---

Residents asked to get tested to stop spread of new strain

People in area with Indian variant queuing for surge testing

Ealing Council wants as many borough residents to get tested as part of its effort to tackle the Indian variant of the Covid-19 virus which is believed to be increasingly prevalent in the area.

As of the 20 May, the borough of Ealing had the third highest infection rate in the capital, not far behind Hounslow which was one of the eight local authority areas in the country being at elevated risk. It is understood that most new cases in Hounslow are of the Indian variant and that it is more transmissible than previous strains of the virus.

From Wednesday, 26 May, all testing facilities in Ealing have been changed to testing facilities for enhanced testing which means that PCR rather than lateral flow tests are being used. PCR tests provide extra information which allows the strain of the virus to be identified.

The plan is borough-wide, but there will be additional activities taking place in Southall initially.

The council has already been working with some local schools in the borough to take part in a programme of enhanced COVID-19 testing. Parents and carers of students at those schools will be contacted directly with details via the school.

Residents can without symptoms can walk-up to any site and get a test.

The following sites will offer enhanced testing for residents that are not displaying symptoms and those that want a rapid test that gives results within 30 minutes will be able to get one from the centre after they have completed their PCR test.

From 9am - 4pm:
• Everyone Active Acton, High Street, W3 6NE
• Ealing Central Library, The Broadway, W5 5JY
• Greenford Library, 23 Oldfield Lane South, UB6 9LG
• Northolt Library, Church Road, UB5 5AS
• Perceval House, 14-16 Uxbridge Road, W5 2HL
• Southall Manor House, The Green, UB2 4BJ

Residents that are displaying symptoms should isolate immediately and get a PCR test at one of the following facilities:

From 8am - 8pm
• Featherstone Terrace car park, Southall
• Gurnell Leisure Centre, Greenford
• Michael Flanders Centre, Acton

The council and Public Health England are working together to organise roving testing sites in certain areas of the borough, which will include a drop-in PCR test site and door knocking. More information on this will be announced later in the week.
To book a PCR test to do at home, visit the NHS website or ring 119.

As many as 1 in 3 people with COVID-19 don’t have any symptoms but can still pass it on. So even though you feel fine, it’s very important that you take part.

If you are 30 years of age or above you can walk-up to CP House in Ealing to get your first vaccination, but booking an appointment is advised to guarantee the jab. To find out if you are eligible and book click here.

There will also be an opportunity to get a vaccine on a vaccination bus with the date and time being announced soon.

Like Reading Articles Like This? Help Us Produce More This site remains committed to providing local community news and public interest journalism. Articles such as the one above are integral to what we do. We aim to feature as much as possible on local societies, charities based in the area, fundraising efforts by residents, community-based initiatives and even helping people find missing pets. We've always done that and won't be changing, in fact we'd like to do more. However, the readership that these stories generates is often below that needed to cover the cost of producing them. Our financial resources are limited and the local media environment is intensely competitive so there is a constraint on what we can do. We are therefore asking our readers to consider offering financial support to these efforts. Any money given will help support community and public interest news and the expansion of our coverage in this area. A suggested monthly payment is £8 but we would be grateful for any amount for instance if you think this site offers the equivalent value of a subscription to a daily printed newspaper you may wish to consider £20 per month. If neither of these amounts is suitable for you then contact info@neighbournet.com and we can set up an alternative. All payments are made through a secure web site. One-off donations are also appreciated. Choose The Amount You Wish To Contribute. If you do support us in this way we'd be interested to hear what kind of articles you would like to see more of on the site – send your suggestions to the editor. For businesses we offer the chance to be a corporate sponsor of community content on the site. For £30 plus VAT per month you will be the designated sponsor of at least one article a month with your logo appearing if supplied. If there is a specific community group or initiative you'd like to support we can make sure your sponsorship is featured on related content for a one off payment of £50 plus VAT. All payments are made through a secure web site.

 

May 26, 2021