Furness Academy has been confirmed as a test centre involved in phase two of Cumbria’s Covid-19 lateral flow device testing scheme.

The school, based on Park Drive, is set to have a test run today to make sure that all is in place and ready for the public to arrive and get tested.

A spokesman for Cumbria County Council, said: “I can confirm that Furness Academy will be a lateral flow testing site.

“No appointments will be required when it does open and results will be recorded within 30 minutes like the other sites in the rollout.”

The dates and times of when the site will be open to the public to come and get tested for coronavirus are yet to be confirmed.

Furness Academy will be added to the list of testing sites that have already launched in Carlisle, Aspatria, Kendal, Penrith, and Millom.

The lateral flow tests provide a result within 30 minutes, with no need for tests to be sent away to a laboratory for analysis. Regular LFD testing of people without Covid-19 symptoms is a key part of the Government’s strategy to control the spread of the virus.

LFD testing helps spot asymptomatic carriers; people who do have Covid-19 and are infectious but are not ill. These people can then self-isolate to protect others.

If you have symptoms of coronavirus, do not attend the test sites, but instead book a test at nhs.uk/coronavirus or by calling 119.

When the lateral flow testing scheme was announced at the start of the month, Colin Cox, Cumbria’s director of public health, said: “LFD testing has an important role to play in how we keep infections down and is part of the wider strategy to get Cumbria back to normal.

“Setting up this local testing system is another big logistical challenge, but with our partners we are making really good progress with thousands of tests already conducted.

CHIEF: Cumbria’s public health director Colin Cox

CHIEF: Cumbria’s public health director Colin Cox

“As expected, those tests have identified people who were infectious with Covid-19 but didn’t feel ill, and didn’t show any signs they were carrying the virus.

“That has meant we’ve stopped outbreaks and minimised the impact on critical local services like the police.

“I do understand that there is a keen demand for testing from many organisations and there is a lot more work to do, but our aspiration is to make LFD testing widely available.”