A CORONAVIRUS testing site in Herefordshire is reopening after public health chiefs urged the NHS to return it as soon as possible.

The mobile testing centre was moved from Ross-on-Wye earlier this month so it could be used elsewhere in the country.

But health chiefs from Herefordshire urged the NHS to return a testing site to the Wilton Road car park as soon as possible so people could visit a site close to their home.

The site will now be open 9am to 3pm every day, and tests for people with symptoms can be booked via the government website.

A council spokesperson said a unit had been located there until February 5 when it was redeployed to help with the government’s surge testing campaign in certain areas to better understand the spread, and suppress, the South African variant.

A council spokesperson said: "Many of the least-used mobile testing units across the country were reassigned by NHS Test and Trace to work in those areas where cases of the South Africa variant, without clear travel links, were found.

"However, Herefordshire Council had requested a unit to be returned to Ross, as soon as one was available, to provide easy access to testing for people living in the south of the county."

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Acting director of public health in Herefordshire Dr Rebecca Howell-Jones said: “I am really pleased a testing unit for people with Covid-19 symptoms has returned to Ross as it makes it much easier for local people to get a test near to home when they need it.

“Although the number of Covid-19 cases in Herefordshire has dropped significantly during the latest national lockdown, the virus is still circulating in our county and some individuals become extremely sick – needing to go into hospital.

“It remains crucial that anyone developing symptoms self-isolates immediately and books a test to prevent spreading the virus.”

The reopening of the Ross-on-Wye site means Herefordshire has three centres again, with the others in Hereford and Leominster.