Nearly 2,000 people have been tested in Mansfield so far since the opening of the rapid turnaround community testing programme last week.

On Monday 285 were tested at the centre at Mansfield Town Football Club, including Damien Calko, from Andwhynot and Canvas (pictured).

The football club centre opened on Thursday with 178 people on the first day. The other Mansfield centre at Oak Tree Leisure Centre opened on Tuesday last week with 143 attending on day one.

Since then Oak Tree Lane Leisure Centre has had, on average, 100 to 120 people visit each day and Mansfield Town site is averaging 150 over the past five days.

The small number of people who have tested positive for the virus have been advised to self-isolate for 10 days.

Self-isolation payments may be available to help people who are affected by not being able to go to work. Details of these can be found on the council website at https://www.mansfield.gov.uk/coronavirus-covid-19-1/test-trace-support-payment-1/1.

A community hub has been set up by Nottinghamshire County Council to help with day-to-day issues for people self-isolating, such as shopping and dog walking. Details can be found at https://www.nottinghamshire.gov.uk/care/coronavirus/nottinghamshire-coronavirus-community-support-hub.

Coun Marion Bradshaw, portfolio holder for safer communities, housing and wellbeing, said: “We are really pleased with the numbers of people attending the rapid community testing centres in Mansfield.

“It is an encouraging start and we hope those getting tested will continue to keep going because it is important to keep being tested at least once or, better still, twice a week.

“We also hope other people will be encouraged to go along, too. This is how we can start to control the spread of the virus and keep Mansfield safe.

“The process is very quick and easy. There is very little hanging about because the results can be texted to your phone, usually within 30 to 40 minutes.

“It is especially useful for people who cannot work from home to get tested regularly and also important for people who may have caring responsibilities for a vulnerable person.

“The numbers who have tested positive are thankfully small but even if we pick up a handful of cases among people who may have no idea they are carrying the virus, that could potentially protect many other people.

“It should also be remembered that community testing will not work on its own so it’s vital that everyone keeps following the National Lockdown restrictions and the Hands, Face, Space guidance.”

The lateral flow rapid turnaround tests used in Mansfield are supplied by NHS Test and Trace and the community testing initiative is being run in partnership with the Department of Health and Social Care.

Around one in three people who are infected with Covid-19 have no symptoms so could be spreading the disease without knowing it. Identifying those showing no symptoms will mean finding positive cases more quickly and breaking chains of transmission.

Testing is available for asymptomatic individuals aged 18-65 years living or working in the district. No appointments are needed.

The opening hours are:

Oak Tree Leisure Centre: Tuesdays to Saturdays from 7am to 3pm.

One Call Stadium: Mondays, Wednesdays, Thursdays and Fridays from 9am to 7pm and Sundays from 10am to 2pm.

There is free parking at both sites. For more information about testing, visit www.mansfield.gov.uk/coronavirus/communitytesting.

Anyone with one or more of these symptoms of Covid-19 – a high temperature, a new, continuous cough, or a loss or change to sense of smell or taste – should not visit the rapid turnaround test centres but should instead book a test at nhs.uk/coronavirus or by calling 119.

There is a Local Testing Site (LTS) for people who have symptoms of Covid-19, which is open seven days a week from 8am to 8pm at Mansfield Civic Centre, Chesterfield Road South, NG19 7BH. An appointment must be booked before attending this site for a test.