Carpenter House in Broad Quay will house a new Covid-19 Local Test Site (LTS) from Monday 5 October.
This will form part of the national system of Local Test Sites, which are a key element in measures to control the spread of coronavirus, by ensuring that those who have symptoms can get tested in an easily accessible location.
The site, announced today by the Department for Health and Social Care, will be housed in the ground floor of the Innovation Centre. It will have a range of protection measures in place:
The LTS will use only the west side of the Ground Floor of Carpenter House. There are separate entrances for the Innovation Centre and another dedicated student accommodation entrance. This is a pre-booking site, but we know people do sometimes arrive early and queue outside. It has been agreed with the site operators that any queue will be towards Ambury not Southgate. Staff will manage this and pedestrian barriers and signage will delineate it from general foot traffic.
There will be 24/7 security operating at the site and a strict cleaning regime.
Those with an appointment will be told to wear a face covering while travelling to and from the site and not to travel by taxi or public transport.
This site is for pre-booked appointments only.
By providing space in this way, the University hopes to build on previous efforts by University staff and students to help our local community tackle the pandemic with more than 400k items of PPE donated to the NHS, supporting efforts for a renewed regional economy post lockdown and volunteering, including the efforts of The SU’s Volunteer Coordinator Joshua Hale.
Professor Ian White, Vice-Chancellor, said: "We have been working closely with Bath and North East Somerset Council and the RUH throughout the pandemic to find ways for University facilities and expertise to help the local community. Given the importance of test and trace in tackling Covid-19, we are pleased to be able to provide space for this facility."
The facility will be open 7 days a week, 8am to 8pm and is for pre-booked appointments only. Testing is available only for those with coronavirus symptoms: a high temperature, a new continuous cough, or a loss or change to sense of smell or taste. Anyone with one or more of these symptoms should book a test at nhs.uk/coronavirus or by calling 119.