It's still possible to catch and spread COVID-19 without symptoms, even after your vaccination. Taking a rapid, lateral flow test (for people without symptoms) regularly to check you are COVID-free prevents you passing the virus on and helps stop the spread.

Around one in every three people with COVID-19 have no symptoms so by getting regular lateral flow tests - particularly before spending time in crowded or enclosed spaces, or with people that are at higher risk of getting seriously ill - you're helping to stop the spread. The rapid tests are for people aged 12 and over. All tests are free and you can expect results within 30 minutes.

Pick-up free home test kits from many local pharmacies. To find ones near you search your postcode on the NHS map You can also book a pick-up slot via gov.uk/order-coronavirus-rapid-lateral-flow-tests  

Test kits continue to be restocked so please be patient and keep trying.

Book a Lateral Flow Test or call the Council on 020 7974 4444 (option 9) 

The testing centre is located inside the Crowndale Centre, 218 Eversholt Street, NW1 1BD, open Monday to Friday, 9am-4.45pm. 

If you develop coronavirus symptoms, a lateral flow test will not be suitable. If you are due to have a lateral flow test and develop symptoms you must not attend the appointment. Please self-isolate and book a free PCR COVID-19 test at nhs.uk/coronavirus or call 119

When you receive your results

Negative result

If your rapid lateral flow test is negative, this means you do not currently have coronavirus. Please continue to follow the national guidance and public health advice to help stop the spread of COVID-19.

Positive result

From Tuesday 11 January 2022, if your rapid lateral flow test is positive, you must self-isolate immediately. You do not need to take a follow-up PCR test to confirm the result. Some exemptions apply, including if people are eligible for the £500 Test and Trace Support Payment. If this is you, you will still need to take a follow-up PCR test to confirm a positive rapid test result in order to access financial support.

From January 17 anyone without symptoms can choose to stop self-isolating after 5 full days, if they receive two negative rapid test results, one on day 5 and one on day 6.

If your day 5 or day 6 test is positive, please stay at home until you receive negative tests on two consecutive days, or until the end of day 10. For more information about self-isolation guidance, visit gov.uk/coronavirus

If you develop any COVID-19 symptoms during your self-isolation, please continue to stay home and take a PCR test, visit: gov.uk/get-coronavirus-test or call 119

We know self-isolating can be difficult. If you need any support, we can help. Visit camden.gov.uk/coronavirus or phone 020 7974 4444. We can offer a range of support, including:

• mental health support
• access to a device to support your child to keep up their education
• help to get hold of essential food or medicine if you live alone

Please take the time to talk to your staff and service users to ensure they know what to do if:

1. They develop coronavirus symptoms
2. Someone in their household develops symptoms
3. They are asked to self-isolate by NHS Test and Trace

Understanding NHS Test and Trace

NHS Test and Trace prevents further spread of coronavirus by:

• allowing people with coronavirus symptoms to get tested
• for those who test positive, tracing their recent close contacts so that they can also self-isolate

What should my employees or service users do if they develop coronavirus symptoms?

• Anyone who develops coronavirus symptoms must self-isolate for 10 days and organise a test by going to nhs.uk/coronavirus or calling 119. Self-isolating means not leaving your home at all, except to get a test.
• Anyone who lives with others who have symptoms, will need to self-isolate for 10 days from the day the first person started having symptoms. They may be able to stop earlier than 10 days if everyone in their household with symptoms gets a negative test result.
• Anyone who has had close recent contact with someone who has coronavirus, must self-isolate if the NHS Test and Trace service advises them to do so.
• If anyone is worried about being able to self-isolate, help and support is available from Camden Council on 020 7974 4444 (option 9)
• Visit nhs.uk/coronavirus for advice on symptoms, testing and self-isolation. If you're worried about your health or coronavirus symptoms call NHS 111

How can I keep my employees and service users safe to prevent them from developing coronavirus symptoms?

You can keep your employees safe by making sure they understand public health advice, which is:

• Where possible, staying 2 metres away from others
• Regularly washing hands for 20 seconds with warm soapy water
• Taking other precautions – e.g. wearing a face covering and using hand sanitiser

Anyone who does develop symptoms must be encouraged to self-isolate immediately to prevent further spread.

What should I do if a staff member or service user tests positive for coronavirus? 

If one employee or service user tests positive for coronavirus, they need to self-isolate for 10 days and anyone they live with will need to self-isolate for 10 days. This means they can’t leave the house at all so please consider checking whether they need any support to isolate. If this is support you can’t provide, the council is here to help.

If two or more staff or service users test positive for coronavirus, call PHE (Public Health England) London’s Coronavirus Response Cell (LCRC) on 0300 303 0450 who will advise you on next steps. The Council is also here to support you so please call them on 020 7974 4444 (option 9) if you have any concerns or questions.

What should I do if a staff member or service user has coronavirus symptoms but hasn’t had a test?

As workplaces reopen, please remind your employees and service users that if they develop coronavirus symptoms, they should get tested and isolate with their household. If they are unsure or worried about getting a test or haven’t updated you on the result, please get in touch with the Council for advice: CIPHAdmin@islington.gov.uk. This inbox is monitored during working hours and on weekends. 

If they’re worried about self-isolating for whatever reason, the Council is here to help them so please ask them to call us on 020 7974 4444 (option 9).

Preparing for staff absence

There may be times when staff members or service users are asked to self-isolate because they’ve been in close contact with someone who has coronavirus symptoms. This might be from contact with a household member, a colleague, a friend or someone that they know. 

From a staffing point of view, you can prepare for this by making sure your Business Continuity Plans are up to date. For example, there may be times when several staff members are required to self-isolate at the same time so you might want to consider how this would impact your capacity and staffing levels so that you can plan for it. However, you can prevent staff and service users needing to self-isolate as a result of being in close contact with colleagues by ensuring that they stay 2 metres apart from each other at all times and that anyone who gets symptoms isolates at home immediately. 

Where can I go to find out more information?

• NHS Test and Trace – maintaining records of staff, customers and visitors
• The Council’s Local Outbreak Prevention and Control Plan 
• National guidance on working safely during COVID-19 

We’ve developed some materials to help all Camden residents understand the latest public health advice, how to get a coronavirus test and what to do if you need support to self-isolate.

If you’re a business owner or a resident with a ground floor window, please consider printing off a poster and sticking it up to help us raise awareness of this information. Doing this will help keep our local communities safe. If you have a smartphone, you could also consider downloading it onto your phone and sharing it with friends and family so they’re aware of the advice as well.

Lockdown restrictions are easing across the country. It's important that we all continue to follow the national guidance and public health advice which you can read in full at gov.uk/guidance/covid-19-coronavirus-restrictions-what-you-can-and-cannot-do

Posters to print and download for guidance from 17 May 2021 onwards

• Public health advice, COVID-19 testing and vaccine poster (English)
• Public health advice, COVID-19 testing and vaccine poster (Albanian)
• Public health advice, COVID-19 testing and vaccine poster (Arabic)
• Public health advice, COVID-19 testing and vaccine poster (Bengali)
• Public health advice, COVID-19 testing and vaccine poster (French)
• Public health advice, COVID-19 testing and vaccine poster (Kurdish Sorani)
• Public health advice, COVID-19 testing and vaccine poster (Somali)
• Public health advice, COVID-19 testing and vaccine poster (Turkish)

A4 poster to print and download on lateral flow testing - May 2021

• Lateral flow testing - A4 poster - May 2021 (English)

A5 flyer to print and download - lateral flow testing - April 2021

• Lateral flow testing - information flyer - April 2021 (English)
• Lateral flow testing - information flyer - April 2021 (Albanian)
• Lateral flow testing - information flyer - April 2021 (Arabic)
• Lateral flow testing - information flyer - April 2021 (Bengali)
• Lateral flow testing - information flyer - April 2021 (French)
• Lateral flow testing - information flyer - April 2021 (Kurdish)
• Lateral flow testing - information flyer - April 2021 (Somali)
• Lateral flow testing - information flyer - April 2021 (Turkish)

Poster to print and download - Keep Camden Safe - Places of Worship

• Places of worship poster - English
• Places of worship poster - Albanian
• Places of worship poster - Arabic
• Places of worship poster - Bengali
• Places of worship poster - French
• Places of worship poster - Kurdish
• Places of worship poster - Somali
• Places of worship poster - Turkish

Accessing the latest local coronavirus data

Please be aware that local coronavirus data is updated weekly at this page.

In May 2020, a Good Practice Network of 11 councils from across the country was chosen to get feedback on NHS Test and Trace. 

In Camden, we’ve played a leading role in the London Region Good Practice Network. We have worked with the other three boroughs in the network: Barnet, Hackney and Newham. Together, we’ve been working openly and transparently to understand what barriers we need to overcome so that all Londoners feel safe, reassured and able to access it. 

In August 2020, we published the London Region Good Practice Network Insight Report and an Executive Summary. This includes a detailed overview of our shared work, learning and achievements over the past few months. It’s split by three key themes:

• communications
• local and regional capacity
• building trust and wraparound support. 

You can read these reports here:

• London Region Good Practice Network Insight Report (PDF)

• London Region Good Practice Network Insight Report  - Executive Summary (PDF)

The app will help to prevent the spread of coronavirus by:

• Helping to identify people who’ve been in close recent contact with someone who’s tested positive for coronavirus – including people they may not personally know.
   
• Enabling people to scan a QR code to ‘check-in’ to a venue – e.g. a shop, place of worship or voluntary organisation.

If someone tests positive for coronavirus, the app will automatically identify people they’ve been in recent close contact with by sending a notification straight to their mobile phone asking them to self-isolate. It’s really important that users self-isolate if they are asked because this will help prevent the spread of coronavirus.

In addition to keeping people safe, the app will help the NHS and local councils understand if the virus is spreading in particular areas. If that happens in Camden, we will rapidly update our communities and remind them how they can stay safe.

If you do not want to use the app, or if you don’t have access to a mobile phone, if you develop symptoms you can continue to access a test via nhs.uk/coronavirus or by calling 119. If you test positive, a contact tracer will call you to help identify the people you’ve been in recent close contact with so that they can self-isolate too.

For more information on the NHS COVID-19 app, visit covid19.nhs.uk

You can apply for Test and Trace Support Payment online. If you don’t have access to the internet, you will also be able to apply by calling us on 020 7974 4444 (option 9).