COVID: Army Assists With Surge Testing In Bolton

The British Army has been deployed to help with COVID-19 surge testing in Greater Manchester.

Fifty troops from the 1st Regiment Royal Horse Artillery have joined volunteers from Bolton Council and staff from RE:SILIENT, the social enterprise arm of charity RE:ACT, to target 12,000 homes in the town over the next few weeks to help get a better understanding of the so-called 'Indian variant'.

Army personnel are going door to door with the other community volunteers, issuing PCR tests and then collecting them when completed.

Bombardier David Bryant, 1st Regiment Royal Horse Artillery, is one of those helping in the testing and said the response has been "very positive".

"For some of the members of the regiment, it's the first thing they've done," he said.

"People see your uniform and are a bit startled straight away but as soon as we describe what we're doing they're more than willing to assist us."

The data is being collected to develop an understanding of the spread or prevalence of the three current strains of the Indian COVID-19 variant and its possible resistance to the available coronavirus vaccines.

Once the PCR tests are completed, they are sent to a laboratory and the results passed to Bolton Council.

Anyone testing positive is urged to self isolate for 10 days.

Speaking about the PCR test, Peter Griffith, Team Lead at RE:SILIENT, said: "It takes a few days for that information to come but it is a much more accurate methodology than the lateral flow test."

On Tuesday, the UK did not report any deaths linked to COVID-19 for the first day since summer last year. 

The UK Armed Forces have played an important role in fighting the virus both at home and abroad, with British military efforts in response to COVID-19 overseas falling under Operation Broadshare.

This has seen personnel help with repatriation flights, the delivery of vaccines and equipment, as well as offering logistical support.