THE Pirelli Stadium is continuing its support of the medical response to Covid-19 by being used as a rapid testing facility.
The home of Burton Albion has supported the NHS from day one of the pandemic, becoming a testing site and offering the stadium facilities for use by the NHS.
Now, with East Staffordshire seeing infections rising and being placed in tier three after the current lockdown, Burton Albion have again stepped forward to help.
The Pirelli Stadium is currently being used for the lateral flow test that helps establish how embedded the virus is in the community by testing people without symptoms who may have Covid-19 but may not know it.
Burton Albion Chairman Ben Robinson said: “We are delighted to again be of assistance to the NHS during this health crisis.
“Like everyone else we were disappointed to be placed in tier three and to have the strictest restrictions in the country, so we are happy do to anything to help stop transmission and get the infection rate down.
“Burton Albion has always put community at the heart of everything we do and that has never been more true than during this pandemic.”
Dr Johnny McMahon, Cabinet Member for Health, Care and Wellbeing at Staffordshire County Council, said: “We are targeting these rapid tests at areas that are seeing a high rate of community transmission. These new tests will give us a better understanding of the spread in the area, and means we can identify and isolate more cases. So, if people are worried they may have been in contact with someone who may have had Covid-19, they can get one of these new tests.
“We’re busy recruiting people to help deliver these tests, which will eventually see up to 80,000 people in the county tested every single week. There will be more of these rapid testing sessions to come in the near future, but places must be booked through our online portal.”