Mixed views in Surrey amid enhanced coronavirus testing

Door-to-door deliveries began on Tuesday with extra testing in eight postcode areas of the country, as urgent efforts got under way to swab 80,000 people in a bid to stop transmission.

In Woking, Surrey – where two cases of the strain were discovered, volunteers were ringing and knocking on doors on streets within part of the GU21 postcode area.

Plans involve more than 100 volunteers handing over PCR tests, which are not compulsory, for around 9,500 residents living in the area this week.

Volunteers talk to residents as they distribute tests during door-to-door coronavirus testing in Woking

Surrey County Council said volunteers went out with 3,000 kits on Tuesday and that there appeared to have been good uptake.

A spokesman said test packs expire 24 hours after being opened, and therefore staff will try to collect them within that timeframe.

Once completed and collected by the volunteers, who are working in pairs, the tests are sent to a laboratory to be examined.

Local resident Robyn Brunskill, 22, said the situation was “quite concerning, especially if they are saying people who have it haven’t had any direct association with South Africa”.

Mother-of-two Teresa Miller said it was a “good idea” to try and get the strain under control, adding that it is “important that everyone gets tested”.

The 42-year-old who works for Kingston University, described her experience of having recently had coronavirus was “awful”, leaving her feeling “exhausted” and “totally drained of energy”.

Stewart Dawkins, 58, a key worker for a supermarket, said the rollout of tests was “a good thing” but “a bit of a waste of time” if people are going to work.

Surrey County Council leader Tim Oliver, said residents should not be concerned about the South African strain being identified in Woking, explaining that the ramped up testing is “an exercise to identify where this variant is sitting in the community”.

Chris Moon, head of logistics for the Surrey Local Resilience Forum, said PCR testing kits were of the “highest standard” and “very accurate”.

He added that tests are also being delivered for school teachers and local businesses and shops in the affected area of Woking.

Mobile testing units and home testing kits are also being deployed to the following areas: Hanwell, west London; Tottenham, north London; Mitcham, south London; Walsall in the West Midlands; Broxbourne, Hertfordshire; Maidstone, Kent; and Southport, Merseyside.