Can you help with Covid testing to ensure Sidmouth's schools reopen safely?

An appeal's been launched for volunteers to help with Covid testing in secondary schools in the Sidmouth area.

Devon County Council said it 'desperately' needs volunteers to administer rapid tests to students, when the schools and colleges reopen on Monday, March 8.

The rapid tests will identify people who are infectious but don't have any coronavirus symptoms – a third of all cases.

The Government guidance is as follows:

Upon return, from 8 March, all secondary aged pupils and students in school and college (year 7 and above) should take a test 4 times - 3 times on site at the school or college's testing site and the fourth at home using a home test kit. The first 3 tests should be taken 3 to 5 days apart. Once pupils and students have had one negative test result they can return to school or college.

After this, all secondary aged pupils and college students will be given home test kits and will be asked to regularly test themselves twice a week at home and report results to NHS Test and Trace, as well as with your school or college.

The volunteer tasks will include registering students, distributing test kits, setting up samples for analysis and interpreting the result, as well as keeping testing stations clean.

Volunteers will be supervised at all times.

For more details, including a short training guide and application form, visit the Devon Communities Together website.

The application process allows you to choose the school nearest to you.