THE Government says it will provide another batch of Covid home tests for Bradford after the district’s visits were paused.

Bradford Council wrote to the Secretary of State for Health Matt Hancock following the decision to halt providing home testing (PCR) kits to Bradford District.

But now the district is set to get a new batch of kits, allowing the home visits to continue.

But the Government says it is also working with the local authority to develop a ‘more sustainable solution going forwards’.

A Department of Health and Social Care spokesperson said: “We have been working closely with Bradford Council to ensure their residents, both with and without symptoms, can access suitable testing.

“As part of this we supplied door to door PCR testing kits to better understand how these could be used to respond to outbreaks.

“We will provide another batch of PCR tests for Bradford to continue while working with them and others to develop a more sustainable solution going forwards.”

For areas such as the Bradford district that do not currently have a specific Covid-19 outbreak lateral flow testing is available for people without symptoms. 

Council Leader Cllr Susan Hinchcliffe yesterday said: “The Government’s decision has come at a period when Bradford District has climbed to 36th nationally in terms of areas with highest infection rates.

“It’s absolutely the wrong time for the Government to reduce our capacity to test our residents using the methods we know can work.

“The Council has been offering almost 6,000 door-to-door tests a month. We believe that this offer is fundamental to our testing strategy and enables a targeted approach that cannot be paralleled by alternatives such as the rapid test centres.”