Calendar An icon of a desk calendar. Cancel An icon of a circle with a diagonal line across. Caret An icon of a block arrow pointing to the right. Email An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of the Facebook "f" mark. Google An icon of the Google "G" mark. Linked In An icon of the Linked In "in" mark. Logout An icon representing logout. Profile An icon that resembles human head and shoulders. Telephone An icon of a traditional telephone receiver. Tick An icon of a tick mark. Is Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes. Is Not Public An icon of a human eye and eyelashes with a diagonal line through it. Pause Icon A two-lined pause icon for stopping interactions. Quote Mark A opening quote mark. Quote Mark A closing quote mark. Arrow An icon of an arrow. Folder An icon of a paper folder. Breaking An icon of an exclamation mark on a circular background. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Caret An icon of a caret arrow. Clock An icon of a clock face. Close An icon of the an X shape. Close Icon An icon used to represent where to interact to collapse or dismiss a component Comment An icon of a speech bubble. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Comments An icon of a speech bubble, denoting user comments. Ellipsis An icon of 3 horizontal dots. Envelope An icon of a paper envelope. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Camera An icon of a digital camera. Home An icon of a house. Instagram An icon of the Instagram logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. Magnifying Glass An icon of a magnifying glass. Search Icon A magnifying glass icon that is used to represent the function of searching. Menu An icon of 3 horizontal lines. Hamburger Menu Icon An icon used to represent a collapsed menu. Next An icon of an arrow pointing to the right. Notice An explanation mark centred inside a circle. Previous An icon of an arrow pointing to the left. Rating An icon of a star. Tag An icon of a tag. Twitter An icon of the Twitter logo. Video Camera An icon of a video camera shape. Speech Bubble Icon A icon displaying a speech bubble WhatsApp An icon of the WhatsApp logo. Information An icon of an information logo. Plus A mathematical 'plus' symbol. Duration An icon indicating Time. Success Tick An icon of a green tick. Success Tick Timeout An icon of a greyed out success tick. Loading Spinner An icon of a loading spinner. Facebook Messenger An icon of the facebook messenger app logo. Facebook An icon of a facebook f logo. Facebook Messenger An icon of the Twitter app logo. LinkedIn An icon of the LinkedIn logo. WhatsApp Messenger An icon of the Whatsapp messenger app logo. Email An icon of an mail envelope. Copy link A decentered black square over a white square.

New walk-through coronavirus centre opens on site of former Aberdeen barracks

A new walk-through coronavirus testing centre has opened in Aberdeen.

The new facility has been installed on the site of the former Aberdeen barracks, in the Aberdeen University’s Roy Strathdee building.

It has been provided by the UK Government as part of a national drive to make testing centres more accessible.

The new site will offer pre-booked tests and can be accessed without a car.

The Roy Strathdee building is located on Don Street and was once home to the University Officer Training Corps.

A fire tore through the building on Bonfire Night last year, destroying part of it.

There is now plans to install 86 new flats on the site.

Anyone being tested at the facility will be required to not travel there by taxi or public transport and follow public health measures.

Testing at the new site started today, with appointments made available each day at nhsinform.scot/test-and-protect.

Baroness Dido Harding, interim executive chairwoman of the National Institute for Health Protection, said: “Our new walkthrough sites offer communities better access to coronavirus testing, so everyone with symptoms can get a test.

Baroness Dido Harding, Executive Chair of NHS Test and Trace, in Westminster, London. PA Photo. Dominic Lipinski/PA Wire

“This new site is part of our ongoing work to expand testing across the UK to deliver 500,000 tests a day by the end of October.

“Please book a test if you have coronavirus symptoms: a new continuous cough, a high temperature and a loss or change in sense of smell or taste.”

Banff and Buchan MP David Duguid added: “The UK Government is committed to helping all parts of the UK fight coronavirus and providing people in Scotland with testing facilities.

“This new walk-through centre in Aberdeen city centre, funded by the UK Government, will play a key part in tackling the virus in the north-east of Scotland, and joins our existing drive-through facility at Aberdeen Airport.

UK Government minister for Scotland, David Duguid, at Aberdeen airport’s drive-through testing site. Picture by Kenny Elrick

“Testing will play a vital part over the coming months, helping to manage local outbreaks and protect livelihoods. This walk-through centre will help people in Aberdeen get tested quickly.

“As I saw for myself when I toured our Inverness and Aberdeen drive-through centres this month, these sites are not possible without the hard work of many people, and I would like to thank everyone involved in getting this new centre open.”

The testing centre is being operated in partnership with Mitie and will offer self-administered tests.