Skip to content
Search

Latest Stories

How councils are stepping up Covid community testing

UK councils have revealed their efforts to promote testing in ethnic minority groups as the government confirmed community testing programmes would be offered to the worst-affected Tier 2 areas.

However, some expressed concern that testing alone was not enough to bring down high rates of infection in some areas. Eastern Eye spoke to public health experts for councils in Leicester and Bradford (both of which have substantial Asian populations) on their experiences with community testing.


It was confirmed last Thursday (17) that both cities would be remaining in Tier 3 for at least the next two weeks. Bradford Council has repeatedly lobbied the government to improve self-isolation payments. It said it is currently using council funds for discretionary payments for the poorest as the government funding doesn’t cover that.

“Testing alone cannot bring down infection rates, there needs to be good self-isolation support in place for people too,” it said. “Infection rates are reducing. It is impossible to attribute this to testing over another intervention, but we think it is playing an important part by identifying people who are positive and requesting they and their contacts isolate to break the chains of transmission. If the government’s self-isolation payments were stronger, this would strengthen the strategy. Testing alone will never be sufficient.”

The council said the perception of testing had changed over time. Its home testing team have set up a system whereby homes are visited by a “warming up” team in advance to answer any questions people may have. This has increased the uptake of the testing offer, it said. “We suspect there may be some people who do not book tests as they are worried that they are then legally required to isolate for 14 days if they receive a positive result,” the spokesperson said. “For low-paid workers, this is a massive challenge for the household in terms of maintaining an income.”

Both Leicester and Bradford emphasised their efforts to reach out to any ethnic minority residents. Bradford said its doorstep testers have information on video in different languages to explain the process, while staff are fully reflective of local communities. “In many cases, they are bi- or even trilingual,” it added.

Leicester echoed similar efforts, claiming doorstep testers were from a range of diverse backgrounds. They also rely on local community radio stations, which broadcast public health messages. “In addition, we work with local community leaders to help raise the issue within different communities and distribute information translated into a range of languages,” a spokesperson said.

Although the teams have witnessed a mixture of responses to testing, Leicester council said most people were willing to be tested. “They appreciate the convenience of the team delivering the test to their home, and collecting it half an hour later,” a Leicester public health spokesperson said.

Bradford officials confirmed PCR tests were available to anyone with the three main symptoms of Covid. They also have doorstep teams, who offer home testing to people living in high prevalence areas. Using this method, the council has had a 10 per cent positivity rate (one in 10 people tested have had a positive result).

Authorities in Leicester confirmed testing was targeted in the area. Officials are testing people in areas with higher infection rates, even if they don’t have symptoms, using doorstep teams. Care home staff and healthcare staff are subject to repeat testing, too. Anyone with symptoms can get tested at centres across the city, including at a walk-in centre where no appointment is required.

The Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) said extending the testing programme would help drive down transmission rates to help prevent areas in Tier 2 moving into the toughest restrictions. Community testing, which was initially launched in Liverpool in November, has already been provided to more than 65 areas in Tier 3.

Community testing will enable positive cases to be picked up more quickly, according to the DSHC, as it was revealed that approximately one-third of people with Covid-19 were not displaying symptoms and potentially unknowingly infecting people.

Health secretary Matt Hancock said broadening testing would “help save lives”. “The sooner we get this virus under control, the sooner we can ease these restrictions and get back to doing the things we love,” he said last Wednesday (16).

More For You

menstruation

The findings come from a UK survey of more than 12,000 women

iStock

Heavier bleeding and iron loss linked to long Covid in women, study finds

Highlights:

  • Survey of more than 12,000 UK women finds heavier, longer periods linked to long Covid
  • Symptom severity rises and falls across the menstrual cycle, worsening during periods
  • Tests reveal inflammation in womb lining and hormonal changes, but no damage to ovaries
  • Iron deficiency risk may exacerbate fatigue, dizziness and other common long Covid symptoms

Study highlights link between long Covid and menstrual changes

Women with long Covid are more likely to experience longer and heavier periods, putting them at increased risk of iron deficiency, researchers have found. The findings come from a UK survey of more than 12,000 women, which also showed that the severity of long Covid symptoms fluctuated across the menstrual cycle and often worsened during menstruation.

Findings from UK survey

Between March and May 2021, 12,187 women completed an online survey. Of these, more than 1,000 had long Covid, over 1,700 had recovered from the virus, and 9,400 had never tested positive. The study revealed that women with long Covid reported heavier and longer periods, as well as more frequent bleeding between cycles, compared with other groups.

Keep ReadingShow less
World Curry Festival 2025

The discovery coincides with Bradford’s City of Culture celebrations

World Curry Festival

Bradford’s first curry house traced back to 1942 ahead of World Curry Festival

Highlights:

  • Research for the World Curry Festival uncovered evidence of a curry house in Bradford in 1942.
  • Cafe Nasim, later called The Bengal Restaurant, is thought to be the city’s first.
  • The discovery coincides with Bradford’s City of Culture celebrations.
  • Festival events will include theatre, lectures, and a street food market.

Historic discovery in Bradford’s food heritage

Bradford’s claim as the curry capital of Britain has gained new historical depth. Organisers of the World Curry Festival have uncovered evidence that the city’s first curry house opened in 1942.

Documents revealed that Cafe Nasim, later renamed The Bengal Restaurant, once stood on the site of the current Kashmir Restaurant on Morley Street. Researcher David Pendleton identified an advert for the cafe in the Yorkshire Observer dated December 1942, describing it as “Bradford’s First Indian Restaurant”.

Keep ReadingShow less
​Dilemmas of dating in a digital world

We are living faster than ever before

AMG

​Dilemmas of dating in a digital world

Shiveena Haque

Finding romance today feels like trying to align stars in a night sky that refuses to stay still

When was the last time you stumbled into a conversation that made your heart skip? Or exchanged a sweet beginning to a love story - organically, without the buffer of screens, swipes, or curated profiles? In 2025, those moments feel rarer, swallowed up by the quickening pace of life.

Keep ReadingShow less
sugary drinks and ice cream

Researchers from the UK and US analysed data from American households between 2004 and 2019

iStock

Global warming may drive higher consumption of sugary drinks and ice cream, study warns

Highlights:

  • Hotter days linked to greater intake of sugary drinks and frozen desserts
  • Lower-income households most affected, research finds
  • Climate change could worsen health risks linked to sugar consumption
  • Study based on 15 years of US household food purchasing data

Sugary consumption rising with heat

People are more likely to consume sugary drinks and ice cream on warmer days, particularly in lower-income households, according to new research. The study warns that climate change could intensify this trend, adding to health risks as global temperatures continue to rise.

Sugar consumption is a major contributor to obesity, diabetes, and cardiovascular disease, and has surged worldwide in recent decades. The findings, published in Nature Climate Change, suggest that rising heat could be nudging more people towards high-sugar products such as soda, juice and ice cream.

Keep ReadingShow less
Camellia Panjabi's cookbook elevates
vegetables from sides to stars

Camellia Panjabi (Photo: Ursula Sierek)

Camellia Panjabi's cookbook elevates vegetables from sides to stars

RESTAURATEUR and writer Camellia Panjabi puts the spotlight on vegetables in her new book, as she said they were never given the status of a “hero” in the way fish, chicken or prawns are.

Panjabi’s Vegetables: The Indian Way features more than 120 recipes, with notes on nutrition, Ayurvedic insights and cooking methods that support digestion.

Keep ReadingShow less