Everyone in England will now be able to access twice-weekly rapid Covid testing at home.

The tests, for people without Covid symptoms, are designed to prevent Covid outbreaks, by alerting people to the fact they have the virus before symptoms start.

It had previously been reserved for those who need need to leave home for work and education, but after schools went back in March, the scheme has now rolled out to everyone in England.

The lateral flow tests sees patients take a swab of their nose and throat, and then place the swab in a solution.

The solution is then dripped onto a test strip which will show a result within 30 minutes.

In Basingstoke, people who have to leave home for work or education were able to book an appointment every 2-3 days at South Ham library, which had been transformed into a community testing centre.

But as previously reported, the centre will close today (Friday) and be replaced with more than 200 pharmacies across the county supplying at-home testing kits.

Residents are also able to order them online, or go along to the town's symptomatic testing site in Churchill Way in the afternoon.

Each box contains seven test kits, allowing residents to take them twice a week.

If you test positive, you should self-isolate immediately and take a confirmatory PCR test.

This is a list of the 30 pharmacies in the Basingstoke area handing out rapid testing kits.

Basingstoke:

  • Boots at Beggarwood Surgery
  • Lloyds pharmacy at Sainsbury's Hatch Warren
  • Brighton Hill pharmacy
  • Boots South Ham, St Andrew's Road
  • S R Pharmacy, Kings Furlong Drive
  • Essex House
  • Churchill Way Long Stay Car Park (PM only)
  • Superdrug Festival Place
  • Boots The Malls
  • Cohen's Chemist, Crown Heights
  • Pharmacy Link, Winklebury Centre
  • Jhoots Pharmacy, Oakridge
  • Popley Pharmacy, Shakespeare Road
  • Abbey Road Pharmacy, Popley
  • Rooksdown Pharmacy
  • Day Lewis, Old Basing
  • Tesco Chineham
  • Boots Chineham
  • Lloyds Pharmacy Chineham

Oakley:

  • Pill Box Chemists, Gemini House

Overton:

  • Pill Box Chemists, Winchester Street

Whitchurch:

  • Lloyds Pharmacy, Newbury Street

Kingsclere:

  • Kingsclere Pharmacy, Swan Street

Tadley:

  • Tadley Healthcare, New Road
  • Lloyds Pharmacy, Mulfords Hill (on-site testing with booking)
  • Tadley Healthcare, Franklin Avenue

Hook:

  • Elixia Healthcare, Reading Road
  • Boots, Hook Parade

Odiham:

  • Lloyds Pharmacy, High Street (on-site testing with booking)

Hartley Wintney:

  • Lloyds Pharmacy, High Street