Friendship Alliance Newsletter 9 June 21
Extensive surveillance of Covid-19 has identified a small number of cases of the Covid-19 Delta variant that was first found in India in Wokingham Borough, that cannot be traced back to international travel.
As such, surge testing will be deployed in the following council wards between Monday 7 June and Monday 21 June:
This will enable Wokingham Borough Council to identify any community spread of the new variant and restrict further transmission.
To check what ward you live in and if you are affected, use the postcode checker on the Council’s surge testing webpage.
All cases are now self-isolating and the Borough Council has conducted robust contact tracing to identify their contacts and ask them to self-isolate.
We are urging residents over the age of 12 who are living, working, or going to school in these areas to come forward for a Covid-19 test between Monday 7 and Monday 21 June if they are not showing symptoms and even if they have already been vaccinated.
Wokingham Borough Council will also be door-knocking in the affected areas to inform residents of the surge testing programme.
Please note that:
Testing will, in combination with measures such as hands-face-space and fresh air, following national guidance, self-isolating when required and getting vaccinated when eligible, help to suppress and control the spread of the virus and new variants.
All residents aged 18 to 24 who are living in Bulmershe & Whitegates, Evendons, Norreys and Wescott, are encouraged to come and get the first dose of the Covid-19 vaccine at the pop-up vaccination clinic.
The clinic will be at Bulmershe Leisure Centre between Tuesday 15 June and Sunday 27 June (inclusive). The site will be open 9.30am to 8.30pm by walk-in only; you cannot book in advance.
All those coming to the centre for a vaccination must bring proof of ID and proof of address because this programme is targeting those in the affected wards only.
Below is a checklist for those hoping to get a vaccine at Bulmershe Leisure Centre as part of surge vaccination:
There may be high demand for this service, so please be patient during this time. Anyone not living in these wards will be turned away. There will be NO parking at the leisure centre – nearest parking is in Woodley town centre or University of Reading/Woodley United FC car park (Woodlands Avenue, Woodley, RG6 1FR).
Anybody who does not know what ward they are in can check the postcode tracker on the Council’s surge testing webpage.
This service is for first doses only – second doses should also be booked through the NHS website. In addition, residents aged 25 and over can continue to book their vaccine at a mass vaccination centre through the NHS website.