BRADFORD Council leader Susan Hinchcliffe has said details of the Government proposition around mass testing is "unclear" at present.

She said the authority has expressed an interest in a conversation with Government about it and had paid a "keen interest" in the city-wide pilot in Liverpool, learning lessons from their experience. 

In neighbouring Kirklees, the Council's cross-party Outbreak Control Board today backed a move to bring mass Covid-19 testing to the borough. 

Cllr Hinchcliffe said: “We have expressed interest in a conversation with Government over mass testing but, as yet, the detail of the Government proposition is unclear. 

“In the meantime we’ve paid a keen interest in the city-wide mass testing pilot that’s taking place in Liverpool and we are learning lessons from their experience which locally is viewed positively.

She added: “Last week in Bradford District over 18,000 people were tested. Around 2,000 people a week are tested on the doorstep by Council workers in the most infected areas of the district, nearly 100 per cent of people return these tests.

"This is a facility that Liverpool doesn’t have but has worked well for us and our residents. We’d like to prioritise the new lateral flow tests to facilitate care home visiting and also to support the education sector. The real benefit of these rapid tests is to test people who are not experiencing symptoms but have the disease and could be transmitting the disease without realising. 

“We’ve always said that we will do everything we can to get the infection rate down. No council can do this on its own, it relies on each and every one of us to play our part. And there is absolutely no point in getting tested if you don’t stay self-isolated at home for the full 10 days if you test positive.”

It comes as Kirklees Council said it had "answered the Government's call" to put infrastructure for mass testing place.

Its Outbreak Contro Board, made up of the leaders of Kirklees’ five political groups and local MPs issued a joint statement today.

They said: "Mass testing will help us identify more cases and reduce the spread of Covid-19 in Kirklees.

"That is why we have answered the Government’s call for local authorities to work with them to put a mass testing infrastructure in place.

"We will now work with the government to build and roll out a mass testing system as quickly as possible so that it is available for everyone in Kirklees. It will be a logistical challenge to deliver and will require the council, the government and partner organisations to work closely together. But infection rates in Kirklees are still high and we need to take every opportunity to keep people safe.

"We are already planning to use this new technology to help people visit care homes safely and it will be in place to allow students to travel home for Christmas. By making our whole population eligible for testing, everyone will be able to take an active part in keeping their family and community safe.  

"People in Kirklees expect us to use every tool available to reduce infection rates. That is why the Board has put Kirklees at the front of the queue for this opportunity.    

"Mass testing will allow each and every one of us to step forward and keep each other safe. But it’s not the only way people in Kirklees can play their part. It’s still as important as ever that everyone in Kirklees follows the rules on staying at home as much as possible, social distancing, wearing a face covering and using the existing test & trace service if you have symptoms."