Government asked to ‘urgently’ expand Covid testing programme to small shops

The Association of Convenience Stores (ACS) has urged the government to take immediate measures to include small shops in the workplace testing programme.

The Department for Health and Social Care (DHSC) has on Sunday (28 March) announced that home testing for Covid-19 has been expanded to businesses with over 10 employees.

The ACS noted that the average independent convenience store has around seven employees, according to its Local Shop Report, meaning the majority of the sector will be excluded from this current offer.

“The Government’s announcement does not provide the independent convenience store sector with a comprehensive and workable testing solution,” commented James Lowman, ACS chief executive. “We are concerned about access to testing for those who cannot facilitate workplace testing or access community testing sites, particularly for rural stores where these may be some distance away.”

Employers with fewer than 10 people can access regular testing through the community testing programme, which is now offered by all local authorities in England. The government has indicated that plans are underway to allow staff of small businesses to order tests online to be sent to their home.

“We welcome plans to expand the testing programme through home tests being sent to direct colleagues who apply for them, but we need this to be put in place urgently,” Lowman said. “Convenience store colleagues have supported their communities throughout the past year, and they need access to testing regardless of the size of the business they work for.”

From 6 April, the workplace testing programme will supply home test kits to companies with over 10 workers where it is not possible to set up testing on-site. The programme uses lateral flow tests (LFD) to rapidly detect the virus in 30 minutes. These self-test kits will be picked up by staff from their employer with clear instructions about how to take the test.

Staff will then complete the home test in the normal way, before reporting their results to the NHS using the provided gov.uk address. They should also advise their employer of a positive result and take a confirmatory PCR test.

The government has also extended business testing registration to 12 April to access free business testing.