With cases rapidly rising across Oxfordshire, the County Council and Layla Moran, MP for Oxford-West and Abingdon, have strongly urged all 18 to 30 year olds to get a PCR test this weekend regardless of whether they have symptoms or not. To facilitate this, three mobile testing centres have been opened.
Over the last two weeks, cases in Oxford have risen six-fold, although the number of severe cases continues to remain stable. Nonetheless, the increased infectivity of the Delta-variant has slowly been driving up hospitalisations nationwide.
The rise in cases in Oxfordshire is largely concentrated amongst younger age groups and the unvaccinated. With many of the cases being amongst younger, less vulnerable, individuals, one in three new cases are asymptomatic – allowing the virus to spread undetected.
To prevent further spread and protect the vulnerable, Ansaf Azhar, Oxfordshire County Council’s Director for Public Health, announced the opening of three new mobile testing centres over the weekend.
The three new testing centres are open from 10am to 8pm this weekend. The centres are operating on a walk-in basis and will not require an appointment. These are located at:
– Blavatnik School of Government, Walton Street
– South Park (St Clements end)
– Oxpens car park
Apart from the mobile testing centres, the Oxford Brookes University and Osney Lane testing centres continue to be open every day from 8am to 8pm. These centres require an appointment to be booked in advance.
Finally, the Council and Moran emphasise the importance of getting vaccinated as soon as possible. The walk-in vaccination centres at Iffley Sports Centre and Mansfield Road continue to be open and provide first doses for those who have yet to receive one. Further information on the University’s vaccination centres can be found here .
Image: George Hodan/Public Domain
