Government knows that access to testing for Coronavirus is key to safe working measures, and has added construction workers to the list of people eligible to get tested.
Announced by Health Secretary Matt Hancock, construction workers are now able to register for testing alongside critical and NHS workers, either at a regional drive-through site or via the internet for a home testing kit.
This involves a relatively simple swab of the nose and throat, and Government is planning to scale up the number of drive-through sites.
Government guidance explains the process and the full eligibility criteria, including video guides to taking swabs.
Secretary Hancock said: “Expansion of our testing programme protects our most vulnerable and keeps people safe. Testing is now available to all over 65s and members of their households, if they have symptoms.
Any worker who needs to leave their home in order to go to work, and their households, if any of them have symptoms can also get a test. This means construction workers to emergency plumbers, research scientists to those in manufacturing – can now be tested.”
Separate policies apply in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, where healthcare is a devolved responsibility.
