Rapid community testing of thousands of people in Swadlincote has found 108 people had tested positive for Covid-19 without knowing they had it.

The scheme, led by Derbyshire County Council in cooperation with the RAF and South Derbyshire District Council, has tested 5,586 residents without symptoms of the virus since Monday, December 21.

Of those people, 108 tested positive. This is nearly two per cent of all those tested but more than 100 people who otherwise could have easily been passing on the infection to the friends, family, loved ones or other acquaintances.

The rapid community testing will now be rolled out in Amber Valley from next week, with a site in Heanor to start things off, at a location yet to be publicly confirmed.

By the end of January, sites will also be set up in Bolsover district, although this will not be in the town itself, but in areas where infection rates are highest.

Those testing facilities will be conducted by civilians only, with no military support. Staff are being reallocated, recruited and trained up to take on the new roles.

The county council's plan is to retain community testing in some scale for as long as there is a public health benefit.

Dean Wallace, director of public health at Derbyshire County Council, told the Local Democracy Reporting Service: "We were expecting to find between one and three per cent, that 108 is about 1.9 per cent and that gives us confidence in our system.

"In terms of the 108, I know it is only around two per cent, if each of those 108 people pass it on to two people, we are at 216 and then if they meet two people, we can end up with a much bigger endemic spread.

"So we have managed to take out 108 asymptomatic people and get them and their households to self-isolate and contact any contacts and start bringing down that infection rate at a quicker pace."

He said: "I'd like to thank all those who have been in for a test.

"I'd like to ask everyone to keep coming back for another test every week while the centres are open."

New "golden hours" are to be added each Wednesday from 10am until 12pm at Swadlincote's Gresley Old Hall and Midway Community Centre sites while the centres are open.

These are to support those who are elderly or with limited mobility and allow them to come to the front of any queue outside, in a similar way to how some the supermarkets operate.

Mr Wallace told the LDRS that the next rollouts in Amber Valley and Bolsover district will need to be tweaked due to the ongoing national lockdown.

He said this may involve prioritising or encouraging key workers and those in core roles such as supermarket workers and taxi drivers to come and get tested, but open access for all residents in each respective area will remain.

The community testing programme is aimed at identifying residents who are carrying the virus but not showing symptoms (asymptomatic) to ensure they self-isolate and do not unknowingly spread the virus.

It is also to help public health officials gain more information and a wider understanding of the cause and scale of outbreaks in hotspot areas across the county, in a bid to quash the spread of the virus.

The rapid community testing scheme is for anyone aged 11 and up who does not have Covid-19 symptoms.

Parents and guardians are asked to accompany those aged 11 to 16.

In Swadlincote, community testing is running for six weeks.

The rapid testing involves lateral flow tests which are self-administered with clear guidance on how to do so. There is then around a 30 minute wait at a separate facility for a text or email to inform residents of their test results.

If the test is positive, a follow-up polymerase chain reaction (PCR) test is carried out by test centre staff to ascertain whether the initial test is correct, for further clarity and assurance.

These tests take around 24 hours to receive a result, during which time the residents in question are told to start self-isolating along with others in their household. Details of their recent contacts and background information are also taken at the time of the second test, and residents are also made aware and directed to support services for financial assistance and health and well-being.

Grove Hall in Swadlincote will cease community testing on Friday, February 5 and the town's two other sites in Midway Community Centre and Gresley Old Hall will stop services on Friday, February 12.