Community COVID-19 testing in Craven Arms finds no new cases

Drop-in testing sessions that took place in two locations in Craven Arms yesterday, found no new cases of coronavirus.

Since 25 July 2020, Shropshire Council and Public Health England (PHE) Midlands have made testing available to Craven Arms residents, regardless of whether they had symptoms, following the COVID-19 outbreak at Long Lane travellers’ site in Craven Arms.  As of today (1 August 2020), no-one in the wider Craven Arms community has tested positive.

The number of people infectious at the Long Lane site has decreased significantly in recent days with now only seven individuals on the Long Lane site being asked to self-isolate after testing positive.

Rachel Robinson, Shropshire Council’s director of Public Health said:

It is very encouraging to learn that all of yesterday’s test results came back negative. We will however continue to watch the situation in Craven Arms carefully and take the necessary actions to protect the public. Testing continues to be available for the travellers’ site and everyone in the local community – I’d like to encourage people to take up testing, keep complying with social distancing rules and practice good hand hygiene. Whilst the results from yesterday are good news, it is vital that we do not become complacent.

If you are a resident of Craven Arms, and regardless of whether you have COVID-19 symptoms, testing is available every day at Craven Arms Business Park from 10.30am to 3.30pm. Craven Arms residents can book an appointment via NHS Test and Trace online or by ringing 119.

Shropshire Council’s public health team would also like to remind everyone to follow social distancing advice to reduce their social interaction with other people. Good hand hygiene remains the best protection against the virus, including washing your hands more regularly with soap and water for at least 20 seconds, wearing a face covering when using public transport or going to the shops and supermarkets, and covering your mouth and nose with a tissue when you cough or sneeze.

For local advice and support during the pandemic (especially if you are self-isolating), call Shropshire Council’s COVID-19 Helpline on 0345 678 9028 (lines open on the weekend on Saturday from 9am-4pm and Sunday 9am-12pm) or visit our website at www.shropshire.gov.uk/coronavirus.

More information about coronavirus, testing, self-isolation, and social distancing is available from the UK Government website at www.gov.uk/coronavirus

Further information for media

We will be providing daily updates on the current situation at Craven Arms on our Newsroom and on social media. If there are no updates posted on Newsroom, this means there is nothing to report on that day.

We will endeavour to respond to your enquiries.

Further information

People who have developed symptoms or have tested positive must isolate for a minimum of 10 days, or until they are 48 hours without a fever (raised temperature), whichever is the longest.

We can all help control the virus if we all stay alert. This means you must:

• stay at home as much as possible
• work from home if you can
• limit contact with other people
• keep your distance from people not in your household (2 metres apart where possible)
• wash your hands regularly
• do not leave home if you or anyone in your household has symptoms.
• wear face coverings on public transport and when going to the shops and supermarkets and in other close settings where possible.

Read more about what you can and cannot do here.