A NEW coronavirus testing site will open in Northwich on Saturday, enabling residents with Covid-19 symptoms to book a test.

The site will be open from 8am to 8pm, seven days a week and will be a walk-through site with no parking available.

The site, named ‘The Old Depot Testing Centre’, opens at 8am this Saturday and is located on Leicester Street on an area of unused land which was a former Cheshire County Council depot.

It comes after a similar walk-through site opened in Winsford this week. The site based at the Brio Lifestyle Centre car park opened on Tuesday.

Councillor Louise Gittins, Leader of Cheshire West and Chester Council, said: “This is good news for our communities in Northwich and Winsford. The new sites are closer to home for residents, which will mean they won’t have to travel long distances to get tested as has been the case in some circumstances in recent months.

“It is important that residents who have Covid-19 symptoms go and get a test for their own peace of mind and, perhaps more crucially, so that they and their families can find out whether they need to self-isolate to protect others or whether they are free to return to work or education.”

READ>Northwich mayor slams 'idiots refusing to wear masks'

High demand for testing has stretched laboratories, which are currently prioritising tests from people who have symptoms. Only residents with symptoms can book an appointment at the new sites on the national portal at gov.uk/get-coronavirus-test or by calling 119. The symptoms of Covid-19 are a new continuous cough, a fever, or a loss or change in sense of taste and smell.

Visitors to these local testing sites will be required to self-swab the back of their own throats and will receive guidance and instruction from staff.

They will need to wear a face covering at the sites and keep a two metre social distance from others.

Residents who have been in contact with someone who has had Covid-19 symptoms do not need to go for a test unless they have symptoms, or have been advised to do so by a health professional or the Test and Trace Service.

People who have already tested positive for Covid-19 and are now feeling better do not need to get re-tested.

The sites will be open for the foreseeable future on a rolling basis.

The council has asked for six local testing sites in Cheshire West and there is currently a site open in the Little Roodee car park in Chester. The council insists it will continue to ask for more sites to meet residents’ needs.

A satellite testing centre is at the Countess of Chester Hospital, which provides swabbing for health and social care staff.