PCR testing in Liverpool

As one of Liverpool’s top intensive care doctors delivers a warning about the coronavirus crisis facing the city, a private home PCR test now available in Liverpool, could be a game changer.

There has been a sharp rise in COVID-19 admissions at Liverpool’s hospitals in recent days, with the city now ranked as one of England’s top virus hotspots. The Health Service Journal has reported that the city’s central University Hospitals Trust, which includes the Royal Liverpool Hospital and Aintree, accounted for around 200 of 1050 COVID-19 patients across all North West hospitals.

This number suggests that Liverpool has far more than its share of COVID patients based on its population, with other hospitals in the rest of Merseyside and Cheshire said to have a combined 250 COVID patients.

Despite these worrying numbers, there are some who still believe that the virus will not pose them a serious health risk because of their age or health status. Peter Hampshire, Clinical Lead at the Royal Liverpool Hospital’s Intensive Care Unit tweeted: “COVID is mild or asymptomatic for most people but for a significant minority it is much more serious. The more people who get infected, the greater the number of people who will then get sick. And without changing behaviour the spread is exponential.”

One of the problems in trying to halt the spread of COVID-19 is that because a significant proportion of infected people have mild symptoms or are asymptomatic, they are unknowingly spreading the virus. It is therefore essential that they start quarantining to avoid any further spread. The AlphaBiolabs home COVID-19 PCR test detects the presence of COVID-19-specific RNA within a positive sample. This 100% accurate test can be posted out to you so you can take your samples in your own home. This means less contact with anyone else, and therefore less chance of spreading the virus if you are contagious.

Full instructions are included in the sample collection kit, and your samples are returned to the testing laboratory in pre-paid, tracked-return packaging. You will receive your results by email the next working day.

Liverpool’s Director of Public Health, Matt Ashton, said: “What we’re seeing is very concerning. Levels of positive cases in the community are high and increasing across all parts of the city and all age groups, so there’s widespread community transmission.”

AlphaBiolabs home COVID-19 PCR test can help stop this transmission in its tracks. If positive for COVID-19 you can immediately start quarantining and limit contact with your family, friends and colleagues. If negative, you are not infectious. A negative PCR test certificate is also currently required for travel purposes. 

The home COVID-19 PCR test can be bought online and is performed by local UKAS-accredited laboratory AlphaBiolabs. Last year, AlphaBiolabs won the Liverpool Echo Knowledge Business of the Year award.

AlphaBiolabs specialises in private COVID-19 testing and offers two onsite COVID-19 testing services in Liverpool for workplace customers. Its COVID-19 Antigen (Ag) Rapid Test can detect a current coronavirus infection in just 15 minutes using a swab to take nose and throat samples. The IgM-IgG Combined Antibody Rapid Test also takes just 15 minutes to detect a body’s immunological response to an active or recent exposure to COVID-19 using a finger-prick blood sample.

To enquire about PCR testing in Liverpool:

For further information on PCR testing in Liverpool or all COVID-19 testing options, please contact our Customer Services team on 0333 600 1300, or email info@alphabiolabs.com

AlphaBiolabs has a Liverpool Walk-in Centre (appointment only) based in Trident House, 31 – 33 Dale Street, Liverpool, L2 2HF.