Thousands step up to get tested - thank you Kingston!
Kingston Council would like to thank the many thousands of people who took part in our recent surge testing programme.
Earlier this month, Kingston Council, working closely with the Department of Health and Social Care, invited residents to get tested to combat a rise in cases of coronavirus, driven by the Delta variant.
In the 3-week period from 9 June, more than 70,000 PCR test kits were sent to our schools. Thousands of residents also visited the walk-in test sites across the borough to play their part by getting tested.
A number of successful surge vaccination walk-in events were also held, including at Kingston University and Kingston Mosque. We were particularly grateful to volunteers from the mosque undertaking local door-knocking to publicise the vaccination offer, an effort that benefitted residents across our community.
Partly driven by such events, huge numbers of residents turned out for their vaccinations: the 3 week initiative saw thousands of additional people vaccinated, including many newly-eligible younger people aged 18 to 24 keen to roll up their sleeves and get the jab.
Iona Lidington, Director of Public Health at Kingston upon Thames, said:
“I would like to say a huge thank you to each and every resident who came forward to get tested in Kingston. By getting tested you have played your part in helping us to identify cases in our borough, prevent onward transmission and reduce the spread of coronavirus.
“Kingston has an incredible sense of community, and we have really shown this in the past few weeks. However, we are not out of the woods yet. Surge testing might be over in Kingston, but coronavirus hasn’t gone away.
“The life-saving actions of hands, face, space and fresh air remain as important as ever, and we all have a part to play in stopping the spread. We have all made so many sacrifices to protect each other. Let’s not lose our resolve now. Let’s keep going!”
In the latest data, our infection rates have risen to 98 cases per 100,000 population, and the case rate in our younger population aged 19-24 is currently over three times higher than this, emphasising the need for continued vigilance.
PCR tests for those without symptoms remain available at the Market House testing site, right in the heart of Kingston until the end of this week, or while stocks last.
Residents will also have ongoing access to lateral flow tests in a number of ways and we encourage residents to continue to do these twice-weekly to help find asymptomatic cases.