Dear Editor,
Around one in three people infected with COVID-19 do not display symptoms- and this is a conservative estimate.
Asymptomatic carriers can still pass it onto others, who might be struck down with a more serious, or even life-threatening, version of the virus.
This is why it is vital that we all continue to play our part to break the chain of transmission as we await the full rollout of the vaccine.
One of the best tools available to us is precautionary lateral flow testing which can detect asymptomatic cases that would otherwise go undetected in the community.
I would strongly encourage local people, without symptoms, to go and get one of these tests as regularly as they can.
More information on the location of lateral testing sites in the Ealing can be found here: https://www.ealing.gov.uk/info/201262/coronavirus_covid-19/2695/test_and_trace/1
More information for Hillingdon can be found here: https://www.hillingdon.gov.uk/article/6480/Asymptomatic-lateral-flow-testing
The rules remain the same for those displaying COVID-19 symptoms in that they should immediately self-isolate, book a test on the NHS website and contact the council if they need financial support.
We are seeing the Government make encouraging progress on vaccine distribution and increasing testing capacity. Now Ministers must urgently fix contact tracing which continues to fall very far short of the mark.
Yours,
Onkar Sahota AM
London Assembly Member for Ealing and Hillingdon