Tri-Service

Coronavirus: Military Operation Of Mobile Testing Units To End

Soldiers of the London Regiment, the only reserve unit in the Household Division, deployed to run mobile testing units across London (Picture: MOD).

The military’s operation of mobile coronavirus testing units will soon come to an end, the MOD has said.

The Armed Forces have conducted more than 700,000 tests at UK sites since April.

More than 2,700 service personnel have run 218 pop-up units since the programme began.

British Army engineers designed the unit in just seven days.

Personnel have also assisted NHS staff across the country, helping to deliver more than six million tests in total (including those from the testing sites).

The military will train civilian workers to continue the role, as the Department for Health and Social Care establishes a long-term plan to deliver COVID testing.

A soldier from 4th Battalion The Yorkshire Regiment keeps a tally of the number of COVID-19 tests handed out at a Scarborough mobile testing unit (Picture: MOD).

Defence Secretary Ben Wallace said:

“Thousands of our Armed Forces personnel - regular, reservists plus supporting civilians - stepped up to serve on the front line in the fight against coronavirus.

“The four-month mission of those on the national testing programme helped to carry out more than six million tests, with 218 military Mobile Testing Teams deploying around the country as needed. This is an extraordinary effort.

“As those teams now train civilian contactors to continue the work, I want to say a huge thank you to our Armed Forces for doing what they do best and supporting the nation’s resilience in a time of crisis.”

Major General David Eastman MBE, Commander Standing Joint Command (UK), the headquarters who lead the Armed Forces’ response to COVID-19, said:

“I am incredibly proud of our servicemen and women who designed and deployed with the Mobile Testing Units across the United Kingdom and provided the public with professional and efficient testing facilities.

“We are delighted to be able to support and complement the testing centres established by the NHS and will continue to deliver on any request for assistance in the fight against the Coronavirus.”

The MOD said the handover process has begun in England, Scotland and Wales. Northern Ireland’s mobile testing units were civilian operated from the beginning.