Burnley's Covid 19 centre records highest number of tests a day in Lancashire

On average the centre on Centenary Way has dealt with 300 tests a day since it opened on Monday, August 10th.

Now the centre, opposite Burnley bus station, is amending its opening hours with immediate effect.

This follows a decision made by Lancashire County Council and Lancashire Resilience Forum after members took advice from Abdul Razaq who is consultant in public health at County Hall.

The station will remain open from 10am to 3pm from Saturday to Wednesday every week with immediate effect. It will be closed on Thursday and Friday. This includes tomorrow.

The test centre has been extremely busy in the last few days, as schools and colleges have re-opened their doors for the first time in six months. And although the centre does not open until 10am queues were beginning to form at 8am.

A Burnley Council spokesman said: "The Burnley testing station is in high demand from local residents.

"But as it has been widely reported the national testing system is stretched.

"We are grateful to the county council and the Lancashire Resilience Forum that, while the hours of operation are reducing, the station will remain open for the foreseeable future."

Another 809 people have tested positive for coronavirus in the North West today, bringing the region's total number of cases to 62,086.

Nationwide, the latest figures from Public Health England show ​a total of 374,228 lab-confirmed cases across the UK.

There are currently 269 people in the region's hospitals who are being treated for Covid19, including 25 on ventilation. A total of 19,579 people have received treatment at North West hospitals since the pandemic began.