Camden Council is offering symptom-free coronavirus testing for workers, or anyone who is in regular close contact with others through care or volunteer responsibilities.

From Tuesday 19 January, Camden Council is offering free Lateral Flow Tests for anyone who lives and/or works in Camden. Tests are free for those adults who:

• cannot work from home and therefore have to leave their house to travel to work or is in regular close contact with others through care or volunteer responsibilities
• cannot access any form of COVID-19 testing from their employer.

Lateral Flow Tests have a 45 minute turnaround time. They are specifically aimed at identifying people who do not have symptoms of COVID-19, but who may be infectious so could still pass it onto someone else. The tests help to protect them and other members of the community, particularly those at highest risk.

If you are an employer, and don't have your own testing facilities set up, you should encourage your staff to get tested during the test sites opening hours.

We are offering Lateral Flow Testing to our communities because we want to do all we can to keep people safe.

Getting a symptom free Covid-19 Lateral Flow Test in Camden

Book a Lateral Flow Test here or call the Council on 020 7974 444

Appointments for a Lateral Flow Test must be booked in advance.

Appointments are available at the following sites across Camden:

• 33-35 Jamestown Road, NW1 7DB, open 7.30am - 7.30pm, Monday to Friday 
• Swiss Cottage Library, 88 Avenue Road, NW3 3HA, open 7.30am - 2.30pm, Monday to Friday
• The London Irish Centre, enter via Murray Street, NW1 9XB, open 7.30-2.30, Monday, Wednesday and Thursday
• The Dome, 170 Weedington Road, NW5 4NU, open 9am-5pm, Monday to Friday
• Triton Café at Regent’s Place, 17-19 Triton Street, Regent’s Place NW1 3BF, open 9am - 5pm, Monday to Friday
• Crowndale Centre, 218 Eversholt Street, NW1 1BD, open 9am – 5pm, Monday to Friday

Please bring ID with your name on to your appointment.

More information on Lateral Flow Testing: when you receive your results

Positive result

If you test positive, you must self-isolate, along with everyone you live with. This is to help prevent passing the virus on.

We know self-isolating can be difficult. If you need any support, we can help. Visit camden.gov.uk/coronavirus or phone 020 7974 4444. We can offer a range of support, including:

• help to apply for a £500 Test and Trace Support Payment - aimed at those on benefits or low income
• access to a device to support your child to keep up their education
• help to get hold of essential food or medicine if you live alone

Negative result

If you test negative, please remember that this result only reflects your status at the time of taking the test. Cases of COVID-19 remain high across London so it’s important that you keep following the Government guidance and public health advice to protect yourself and others.

If you develop coronavirus symptoms, a Lateral Flow Test will not be suitable. If you are due to have a Lateral Flow Test and develop symptoms you must not attend the appointment.

Please book a free test at nhs.uk/coronavirus or call 119. You will be given the option to book an appointment at a nearby test site. You can request a test kit be posted to you if you prefer. Alternatively, you can book an appointment at Camden’s Ramsay Hall test site near Regent’s Park (W1T 5HB, no step-free access) directly with us by calling 020 7974 4444 (option 9).

Please take the time to talk to your staff and service users to ensure they know what to do if:

1. They develop coronavirus symptoms
2. Someone in their household develops symptoms
3. They are asked to self-isolate by NHS Test and Trace

Understanding NHS Test and Trace

NHS Test and Trace prevents further spread of coronavirus by:

• allowing people with coronavirus symptoms to get tested
• for those who test positive, tracing their recent close contacts so that they can also self-isolate

What should my employees or service users do if they develop coronavirus symptoms?

• Anyone who develops coronavirus symptoms must self-isolate for 10 days and organise a test by going to nhs.uk/coronavirus or calling 119. Self-isolating means not leaving your home at all, except to get a test.
• Anyone who lives with others who have symptoms, will need to self-isolate for 10 days from the day the first person started having symptoms. They may be able to stop earlier than 10 days if everyone in their household with symptoms gets a negative test result.
• Anyone who has had close recent contact with someone who has coronavirus, must self-isolate if the NHS Test and Trace service advises them to do so.
• If anyone is worried about being able to self-isolate, help and support is available from Camden Council on 020 7974 4444 (option 9)
• Visit nhs.uk/coronavirus for advice on symptoms, testing and self-isolation. If you're worried about your health or coronavirus symptoms call NHS 111

How can I keep my employees and service users safe to prevent them from developing coronavirus symptoms?

You can keep your employees safe by making sure they understand public health advice, which is:

• Where possible, staying 2 metres away from others
• Regularly washing hands for 20 seconds with warm soapy water
• Taking other precautions – e.g. wearing a face covering and using hand sanitiser

Anyone who does develop symptoms must be encouraged to self-isolate immediately to prevent further spread.

What should I do if a staff member or service user tests positive for coronavirus? 

If one employee or service user tests positive for coronavirus, they need to self-isolate for 10 days and anyone they live with will need to self-isolate for 10 days. This means they can’t leave the house at all so please consider checking whether they need any support to isolate. If this is support you can’t provide, the council is here to help.

If two or more staff or service users test positive for coronavirus, call PHE (Public Health England) London’s Coronavirus Response Cell (LCRC) on 0300 303 0450 who will advise you on next steps. The Council is also here to support you so please call them on 020 7974 4444 (option 9) if you have any concerns or questions.

What should I do if a staff member or service user has coronavirus symptoms but hasn’t had a test?

As workplaces reopen, please remind your employees and service users that if they develop coronavirus symptoms, they should get tested and isolate with their household. If they are unsure or worried about getting a test or haven’t updated you on the result, please get in touch with the Council for advice: CIPHAdmin@islington.gov.uk. This inbox is monitored during working hours and on weekends. 

If they’re worried about self-isolating for whatever reason, the Council is here to help them so please ask them to call us on 020 7974 4444 (option 9).

Preparing for staff absence

There may be times when staff members or service users are asked to self-isolate because they’ve been in close contact with someone who has coronavirus symptoms. This might be from contact with a household member, a colleague, a friend or someone that they know. 

From a staffing point of view, you can prepare for this by making sure your Business Continuity Plans are up to date. For example, there may be times when several staff members are required to self-isolate at the same time so you might want to consider how this would impact your capacity and staffing levels so that you can plan for it. However, you can prevent staff and service users needing to self-isolate as a result of being in close contact with colleagues by ensuring that they stay 2 metres apart from each other at all times and that anyone who gets symptoms isolates at home immediately. 

Where can I go to find out more information?

• NHS Test and Trace – a guide for local businesses  
• NHS Test and Trace – maintaining records of staff, customers and visitors
• The Council’s Local Outbreak Prevention and Control Plan 
• National guidance on working safely during COVID-19 

We’ve developed some materials to help all Camden residents understand the latest public health advice, how to get a coronavirus test and what to do if you need support to self-isolate.

If you’re a business owner or a resident with a ground floor window, please consider printing off a poster and sticking it up to help us raise awareness of this information. Doing this will help keep our local communities safe. If you have a smartphone, you could also consider downloading it onto your phone and sharing it with friends and family so they’re aware of the advice as well.

Please be aware that as of 4 January 2021, London - along with the rest of the country - must follow national lockdown restrictions which you can read in full at gov.uk/guidance/national-lockdown-stay-at-home

Posters to print and download - lockdown guidance

• Public health advice and restrictions for lockdown - stay at home (Easy read)
• Public health advice and restrictions for lockdown - stay at home (English)
• Public health advice and restrictions for lockdown - stay at home (Albanian)
• Public health advice and restrictions for lockdown - stay at home (Arabic)
• Public health advice and restrictions for lockdown - stay at home (Bengali)
• Public health advice and restrictions for lockdown - stay at home (French)
• Public health advice and restrictions for lockdown - stay at home (Kurdish)
• Public health advice and restrictions for lockdown - stay at home (Somali)
• Public health advice and restrictions for lockdown - stay at home (Turkish)

Please note that we will upload translated guidance as soon as it's ready.

We have also created a toolkit with essential public health information so people can create their own content, including videos, to share with their networks. Download tookit (PDF).

Advice to protect yourself from coronavirus in shared housing

Preventing the spread of coronavirus can be more difficult when you’re living in close proximity to other people. If you live with other people, read this guide to help you all stay safe and protect yourself from coronavirus – including what to do if one of you develops symptoms.

If you’re a student read this guide.

Accessing the latest local coronavirus data

Please be aware that local coronavirus data is updated weekly at this page.

In May 2020, a Good Practice Network of 11 councils from across the country was chosen to get feedback on NHS Test and Trace. 

In Camden, we’ve played a leading role in the London Region Good Practice Network. We have worked with the other three boroughs in the network: Barnet, Hackney and Newham. Together, we’ve been working openly and transparently to understand what barriers we need to overcome so that all Londoners feel safe, reassured and able to access it. 

In August 2020, we published the London Region Good Practice Network Insight Report and an Executive Summary. This includes a detailed overview of our shared work, learning and achievements over the past few months. It’s split by three key themes:

• communications
• local and regional capacity
• building trust and wraparound support. 

You can read these reports here:

• London Region Good Practice Network Insight Report (PDF)

• London Region Good Practice Network Insight Report  - Executive Summary (PDF)

On Thursday 24 September 2020, the Government launched its ‘NHS COVID-19’ app to support NHS Test and Trace. 

The app will help to prevent the spread of coronavirus by:

• Helping to identify people who’ve been in close recent contact with someone who’s tested positive for coronavirus – including people they may not personally know.
   
• Enabling people to scan a QR code to ‘check-in’ to a venue – e.g. a shop, place of worship or voluntary organisation.

If someone tests positive for coronavirus, the app will automatically identify people they’ve been in recent close contact with by sending a notification straight to their mobile phone asking them to self-isolate. It’s really important that users self-isolate if they are asked because this will help prevent the spread of coronavirus.

In addition to keeping people safe, the app will help the NHS and local councils understand if the virus is spreading in particular areas. If that happens in Camden, we will rapidly update our communities and remind them how they can stay safe.

If you do not want to use the app, or if you don’t have access to a mobile phone, if you develop symptoms you can continue to access a test via nhs.uk/coronavirus or by calling 119. If you test positive, a contact tracer will call you to help identify the people you’ve been in recent close contact with so that they can self-isolate too.

For more information on the NHS COVID-19 app, visit covid19.nhs.uk
 

You can apply for Test and Trace Support Payment online. If you don’t have access to the internet, you will also be able to apply by calling us on 020 7974 4444 (option 9).