Milton Keynes Council are urging businesses with over 50 employees to order rapid testing kits for their staff by 31st March 2021.
As part of the government's roadmap out of lockdown, businesses with over 50 members of staff are now being urged to order rapid testing kits to begin in-house testing centres.
This comes as all school pupils in England have now begun to return to their classrooms with mass testing of secondary school and college pupils taking place two times a week.
With more people returning to workplaces and unable to work from home, the rapid tests can produce results in as little as an hour and are used on those who are asymptomatic. Around one in three people who are infected with COVID-19 have no symptoms, so broadening testing to take place within larger businesses will mean finding positive cases more quickly.
Rapid testing for key workers and businesses with under 50 employees will still be available from Milton Keynes councils test centre at the Central Library every weekday.
Last week, Cllr Pete Marland, the leader of Milton Keynes Council announced that approximately 11,000 rapid tests had been taken last week alone. This is expected to increase with the return of schools and businesses.
He said: "The main thing is that if you are in a job or situation that requires a regular test then you need to make sure that it is ongoing. It isn't something you can do once and forget about.
"This could be as simple as providing time for employees to get a test during the working day. Businesses with more than 50 staff can run their own testing schemes. And we are offering help to learn how to test or provide advice on how to run a testing programme."
If you have more than 50 employees you can register an interest by emailing p-and-psector@dhsc.gov.uk . You must register for rapid testing kits by 31st March.
