Tayside testing centres for anyone with symptoms of Covid-19 will be open every day over the festive period – including Christmas Day and New Year’s Day.
For people without symptoms, the testing centres will only be closed on Christmas Day and New Year’s Day.
PCR tests will be used for people with coronavirus symptoms and mobile testing units offering lateral flow tests for people with no symptoms will be open.
Full details about the testing programme, including locations of testing sites and opening hours over the festive period, are available at the NHS Tayside website.
Testing venues offering PCR testing for those with symptoms are open every day over the festive period:
- People must book a test via the NHS Inform website or by calling 119. People cannot attend without an appointment.
- On Christmas Day, Boxing Day and New Year’s Day, sites will be open with reduced hours. On December 27-31 and January 2, 3 and 4, all venues except Forfar will be open as usual
- Myre Car Park testing site in Forfar will be closed from December 25 to 18, and from January 1-4 2022. It will be open on December 29, 30 and 31. For people in the Forfar area, appointments will be offered at the nearest alternative testing location.
Forfar’s Myre Car Park is one of the testing sites in Angus.
Mobile testing units offering lateral flow testing for those without symptoms:
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- Sites will be closed on Christmas Day and New Year’s Day
- On Christmas Eve they will open from 10am – 4pm. In Angus, people can visit the Kirrie Connections Car Park in Kirriemuir, in Dundee, people should go to The Dundee International Sports Centre (DISC), and in Perthshire, the Auchterarder Fire Station will be available.
- On Boxing Day, Carnoustie High School, Forthill Primary School and Perth Community Fire Station will be open from 10am–1pm.
- Between December 27 and 31, normal operating hours for all units will be in place; 10am–4pm.
- On Christmas Eve, Kirrie Connections Car Park, The DISC in Dundee and Auchterarder Fire Station will be available from 10am to 4pm
- On January 2, Carnoustie High School, Forthill Primary SchooldsDf in Dundee and Perth Community Fire Station will open from 10 to 4pm.
- On January 3, normal operating hours for all units in Tayside will resume, 10am–4pm
Carnoustie High School is being used as a testing site by NHS Tayside.
The mobile testing sites are walk-in and there is no need to book an appointment.
However, to make the process quicker, you can book in advance and pre-register your details by phoning 119.
NHS Tayside bosses have advised people to stock up on lateral flow testing kits from their local pharmacy, or by ordering them online, to ensure they can continue to test regularly over the festive period.
This can be done via the Scottish Government website.
On Thursday, First Minister Nicola Sturgeon strongly underlined her advice for Scots to limit contact with others as she gave an update on the rapidly spreading Omicron Covid variant.
She said the variant is likely to become the dominant strain of coronavirus in Scotland by Friday December 17.
In an unscheduled briefing in the Scottish Parliament, Ms Sturgeon said the variant was “spreading faster than even the fastest rollout of vaccines”.
