Armed forces arrive to stay at Pontins ahead of Liverpool mass testing

Armed forces arrive in Pontins Southport ahead of Liverpool mass testing

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The army has arrived in Liverpool to help roll-out the mass coronavirus testing programme in the city.

On Monday, Boris Johnson and Liverpool’s local leaders revealed that the city will trial out the new testing scheme and everybody who lives and works in the city will be eligible for a test.

It is understood military personnel will be staying in Pontins, Southport, during their time working on the ‘moonshot’ programme in Merseyside.

This isn’t the first time the armed forces have been deployed to Merseyside, as they have been helping out with the Government response to the outbreak since the start of the pandemic.

Now with the new ‘moonshot’ testing programme launched, it is thought around 2,000 military personnel will be stationed in Liverpool.

Defence Secretary Ben Wallace said: “We will be deploying 2000 talented Armed Forces personnel to, once again, rise to the challenges posed by COVID-19 to ensure we go above and beyond for the Liverpool community – we will have your backs throughout the trial.

“The military are uniquely placed to help with the fight against COVID-19 and remain ready to support with the mass testing initiative in Liverpool along with the additional needs of the country at this time.

Interim Executive Chair of the National Institute for Health Protection Baroness, Dido Harding said: “Mass testing has the potential to enable us to find the vast majority of people who have coronavirus, regardless of whether they have symptoms or not, and therefore dramatically enhance our ability to stop the spread of the virus.

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“This first deployment of whole city testing in Liverpool is a really important step forward and is thanks to the big increase in testing capacity and our investment in new testing technologies.

“NHS Test and Trace will continue to work closely with local leaders, directors of public health and the Armed Forces to ensure Liverpool residents and workers can benefit from these advances.

“By everyone in Liverpool coming forward to get tested, and isolating if they need to, we have a real opportunity to make a massive difference.”

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