Coronavirus testing site in Norfolk run by security firm G4S is forced to close after four members of staff test positive for Covid
- People with tests at Postwick Park and Ride site in Norwich were turned away
- Drive-through facility will be deep cleaned and reopened ‘as soon as possible’
- Four confirmed coronavirus cases among staff on site within the past 72 hours
A coronavirus testing site in Norfolk has closed after several members of staff tested positive for Covid-19, its operator G4S has said.
People with tests booked at the Postwick Park and Ride site on the eastern edge of Norwich were turned away on Sunday following the outbreak.
Security firm G4S said the drive-through facility will now be deep cleaned and reopened ‘as soon as possible’.
There have been four confirmed coronavirus cases among staff on the site within the past 72 hours, the Eastern Daily Press reports.
A G4S spokesman said in a statement: ‘On Sunday November 15, a testing site at Postwick, Norwich, was closed after several staff reported positive coronavirus tests.
The Postwick Park and Ride coronavirus testing site in Norfolk (pictured) has closed after several members of staff tested positive for Covid-19, its operator has said
‘The site will be deep cleaned as per PHE (Public Health England) guidelines and reopened as soon as possible. Those with tests booked have been redirected to nearby test sites.’
An outbreak in a healthcare setting is defined as when there is a minimum of two positive cases.
The site is run by G4S, in partnership with PHE, and has 43 members of staff working per shift.
The company said all appropriate safety measures were in place at the site and all PHE, Department of Health and Social Care, and NHS risk assessment management processes were followed.
People who had tests booked at the site were instead redirected to testing centres in Great Yarmouth and in Ipswich, Suffolk.
Public Health England has been contacted for comment.
It comes as Britain today recorded 168 more Covid deaths and 24,962 new cases.
Today’s death toll, which is usually lower on Sunday and Monday due to weekend reporting lags, is up by just 12 from last Sunday – in a sign that fatalities may be flattening out.
People gather outside St George’s Hall in Liverpool during an anti-lockdown rally protest against government restrictions during the second lockdown
Anti lockdown protestors march through Bristol city centre today. It comes despite Priti Patel banning demonstrations duration of the second lockdown
It comes after the head of the Office for National Statistics said that growth in infections is ‘slowing’ too. Some 24,962 new confirmed cases of coronavirus were reported today – just five more than last Sunday.
Professor Sir Ian Diamond says that while there remains an increase in the number of Covid cases, the data shows a ‘slowdown in the rate of growth’, providing a small ray of hope for an end to harsh countrywide restrictions.
He told Sky’s Sophy Ridge on Sunday that Britain is in the grip of a second wave spurred on by teenagers and young adults – who are also starting to see a drop in the rate of infections.
Sir Ian said: ‘The good news is – yes – we are seeing a slow down in the rate of growth.
‘That means we’re still increasing and we are now in England at 1.25 per 1,000. That means that one in 85 people in England, we believe, have the virus.
‘In Wales, a little less at one in 100, in Scotland one in 135 and Northern Ireland one in 105. So yes we are continuing to increase the numbers, but the rate of growth is slowing.’